Lord of the Dragonballs
by Riccy
Summary: Two Fellowships make their way across middle earth: The Fellowship of the Ring and the Fellowship of the balls. Both have very different tasks, but must join forces to defeat a common enemy.
1. Chapter1: The two fellowships

Disclaimer: None of the characters in this story were created by me. They were created by clever people who know how to write properly :P I just use them J 

Chapter 1 – The two Fellowships

"Very well. Pippin and Merry shall go too. That makes nine" Elrond wasn't pleased about this, bit saw he had no other choice as the eager hobbits would not back down. Frodo had already been chosen, as he was the Ring-bearer and Sam as they were inseparable. Gandalf knew the way and was wiser even than Elrond, so he too would go. Gimli and Legolas had been chosen to represent the dwarves and elves respectively, and Aragorn and Boromir to represent man, though Boromir would be departing at Gondor. "You nine shall be the fellowship of the ring!" he continued. Everyone stood, waiting for him to grant them leave. "You shall depart in seven days", he said, and gestured for them to leave the hall.

Meanwhile, in another part of Middle Earth, seven days later…

"Very well", said Bulma. "Trunks and Goten'll go too. That makes nine". She wasn't happy about her son going into this kind of potential danger, but at least Vegeta would be there to protect him, should his arrogance not get in the way. Goku had been chosen as he was the only one who knew how to work a dragonball radar, and the rest had been chosen cause they didn't know anyone else. Also, they could fly, which helped. There was Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, Krillan, Trunks, Goten, Yamcha, Gohan and Videl. "You nine are the fellowship of the balls!" declared Bulma. "When do we leave?" asked Goku. "Whenever you want", she replied. "Okay. I gotta eat, but after that we can go" he said, and went off to find food. Vegeta grunted. Kakorat was a disgrace to the saiyan race in his opinion, and he would surpass him in power one day. That was all he lived for. He left and found a quiet spot to train in while Goku ate.

Trunks and Goten ran off while the grown-ups did their own things. They were excited about looking for the dragonballs, as they had never seen them before, or the eternal dragon, Shenlong. Making a wish wasn't that important to them though. Their childlike innocence made them too naïve to realise the endless possibilities the dragon provided. Despite their lack of interest with regards to the wish, they had been promised one by their fathers, who wanted to teach them the value of a wish from the dragon, but more importantly, they would be on the quest for future reference; it would be easier in the coming years to send the kids to look for the dragonballs.   
"What do you wanna wish for Goten?" asked Trunks.   
Goten thought hard. "I dunno. Hey! Maybe we can wish for a new toy!"   
"More like a hundred new toys!" said Trunks, getting worked up.   
"Or a _thousand_ new toys!" shouted Goten, excited.   
Suddenly, Trunks looked puzzled. "How does the dragon know what toys we want?"   
"I dunno. Maybe he's like Santa Claus."   
"Okay. I don't care as long as he gives me a Gamecube, available throughout the UK May 3rd, priced £130"   
"Trunks, what are you doing?"   
"Advertising. Nintendo said they'd make a 3-d beat em up featuring me if I endorsed the Gamecube."   
"Oh! Okay! I don't care what we get either as long the dragon gives me an X-Box! They're available everywhere NOW, priced £300"   
"I can't believe you sold out to Microsoft, Goten"   
Goten dropped his head and spoke in a sad voice, "I was all they could afford".   
"Hey!" said Trunks, as if the previous topic had never happened. "Wanna train before the grown ups get back?"   
"Sure!" said Goten, his eyes brightening. The two young saiyans leaped back and stood smiling, poised to attack.

Vegeta kicked and punched the air. He was suspended several feet above the ground. 'Why does Kakorat always have to be better than me at everything?' he thought. 'I'll show him. I'm the true prince of the saiyans, and one day he will bow before me and show me the respect I deserve'.

Meanwhile, Goku was gulping down the food Chi-Chi had prepared for him. "You know….mmm…Chi-Chi…(gulp)….that Vegeta really…(Buuurp)….(gulp)…gets in my…(chomp)…nerves". He finished eating and stretched his arms as he began to indigest. "All I ever do is try to be nice to him and he treats me like a jerk!"   
"He's just jealous of you honey" said Chi-Chi, rubbing her husband's arm.   
"But all the other boys like me" said Goku, puzzled.   
"Well, go and play with the other boys", replied Chi-Chi.   
"I do, but I want Vegeta to be my friend". Goku's expression became a frown.   
"He'll like you one day honey. Just show him how powerful you are and he's bound to like you then"   
"Do you really think so?"   
"I know so!"   
"Okay. Then that's what I'll do! On the quest, I'll show him how much more powerful I am than him. He's sure to like me then!"   
"That's the spirit honey". She kissed him on the cheek. "Go and have fun on your quest". Goku walked off as his wife smiled, then she noticed a small box on the table. "Goku!" she shouted, "You forgot your packed lunch!" A gust of wind, too fast to take form, flew into the room. When it flew out again, the box was gone.

Vegeta was about to get down to some heavy training when he heard Goku shout: "I'm done eating guys! We can go now!". Vegeta cringed. "Blast you Kakorat!" he said to himself. "Why do we have to work around _your_ schedule?". 

Trunks and Goten hadn't had time to land a punch yet before Goku called. They abandoned the fight and ran off to join the rest of the fellowship. Piccolo was standing with Krillan and Yamcha. Gohan and Videl could be seen flying toward the area. "Are we ready to go now?" he asked in his husky Namek voice. "Yup", said Goku, taking his radar out of his pocket. "The nearest ball is to the west. I guess that's where we'll go". He led the way, and the others followed, travelling by foot for a while before taking to the sky.

The Fellowship of the Ring had left Rivendell and were travelling south towards the Gap of Rohan, following the path of the mountains. They had been walking for several days and the hobbits were growing weary, lagging behind as they tried to keep up with the men who could walk faster, and the light-footed Legolas.   
"We've been walking for days now Mister Frodo", said Sam, sounding tired and hungry. "When are we going to rest?"   
"Soon Sam", replied Frodo, but he didn't mean it. He felt it was necessary to encourage his friend though he himself was hungry, tired and also discouraged.   
"Okay Mister Frodo" said Sam, and cheered up. Gimli turned to Legolas and, mimicking Sam's voice, said "How would you like your ass kissed today Mister Frodo?", quietly so as not to be heard. The elf burst into a fit of laughter and Gimli joined in, followed by Boromir who had also been annoyed by Sam.   
"Mister Frodo, they're making fun of me!" cried Sam.   
"Squealer", said Legolas.   
Frodo turned and looked very cross. "I'm the ring bearer", he said, holding the ring by its chain. "Don't make me use it!" It was a bluff, but as he said it, he felt his finger being drawn to the golden object. Gandalf spotted this and put his hand on Frodo's, moving it away from the ring.   
"Legolas and Gimli" he said in a loud voice. "Move to the back of the Fellowship!"   
"Aww, but Gandalf!" said the elf and the dwarf in unison.   
"I mean it!" he said. "Or we'll turn back and return to Rivendell!"   
The two troublemakers hung their heads in shame and slowly walked to the back of the line. Sam smiled and walked faster for the rest of the day.

The Fellowship of the Balls had travelled for two days, and had finally reached the area of the first ball. They were in a small town, void of all life, but by the looks of it had been recently evacuated. The doors to all the houses were unlocked and some of them had television's still on, or food in the oven being cooked. "What's going on?" asked Goku, confused.   
"Something must have scared these people away", answered Piccolo. "It looks like they left in a hurry". The sound of galloping hoofs could be heard close by. "Do you hear something?" asked Krillan, but noone answered. Trunks and Goten looked around paranoid. "Hey, Goten", said Trunks to his friend. "What d'ya suppose happened to all the people?"   
"I dunno", answered Goten.   
"Enough of this!" shouted Vegeta. "Let's find the dragonball and leave!"   
"Okay" said Goku. "You're right. The dragonball is the top priority". He was curious as to the departure of the village's population, but didn't want to argue with Vegeta as he still had high hopes that they would someday be friends. "The dragonball should be in one of these three cottages here" he said, and led them into the middle cottage. The television was on and Pokemon was showing. Piccolo grunted. "I hate cartoons," he said. They split up and searched different rooms. Trunks and Goten took the kitchen, Piccolo, Goku and Vegeta the dining room, and Gohan, Krillan, Yamcha and Videl the bedroom. An hour of ransacking the place prove fruitless, and the cottage was now a tip. They all met up at the front door and shook their heads. It was on to the next cottage. Once again they spilt up and took the same rooms. The layout of this cottage was identical to that of the last, and the search was faster this time. Goku, Vegeta and Piccolo finally gave up and went to wait by the front door. They were soon joined by Gohan, Videl, Yamcha and Krillan, who also did not find anything. 'What's taking Trunks and Gohan so long?' thought Goku. They waited twenty minutes, they finally the boys opened the door and left the cottage. Trunks came out first with a large grin on his face. He was followed by Goten who was jumping for joy, holding a dragonball. "I found it! I found it!" he cried, and the others suddenly opened their eyes wide and smiled. Goku took the ball. "Hey! It's mine! I found it!" shouted Goten to his dad. "Better keep it safe with me son", said Goku, and checked to see if it was real. It had four stars in it and appeared to be authentic. He moved to the left and the radar moved accordingly. This prove it was real. 'Four stars', he thought. 'Grampas's ball', and he looked to the sky. "Can we go now?" said Vegeta, his arms folded. "Sure", replied Goku. "But I think it would be better of we split up for the next few balls". Piccolo nodded and started to put them into teams.   
"Me, Goku, and Vegeta will all go the east. Gohan, Videl, Yamcha and Krillan can go find the dragonball in the west. Trunks and Gohan, to the northeast. After that we meet up to find the other three balls together".   
"I will not go with you", said Vegeta. "I work alone from now on". There was no arguing with him when he got like this.   
"Very well", said Piccolo. "Vegeta, you go get the ball in the north-west. Then we can find the other two balls together. We'll meet at this spot when he have the balls". They all agreed and began to set off. The sound of hoofs could be heard circling the nearby cottages. The Fellowship stopped and listened. A dark figure could be seen between the gaps in the buildings. In a flash, it took the corner they were standing by and stood facing them. It was a rider in black, sitting on a huge black horse. The towering figure circled them, trapping them in all two-dimensional directions. They would not fly away though. They wanted to find out more.

The black rider drew his sword and lunged at Goku. Goku dived out the way, and Piccolo grabbed the sword, pulling it away from the rider, disarming him. He hurled the weapon miles over the hills and valleys in the distance. The rider rode towards Goten and Trunks, aiming to trample them, but they too dodged the horse. Vegeta was behind him now. "Oh, Black rider" he said. The rider turned and looked at Vegeta. "Final Flash!" He screamed, and fired a huge blast. The others shielded their faces as the horse whinnied and tried to move, but found it couldn't. The rider was disintegrated along with his steed, and many many cottages. "That was stupid," said Piccolo. "I don't like interruptions", said Vegeta, impatiently. There was nothing that could be done about it now anyway. The fellowship faced each other and nodded, finding their team partners before flying off in all directions. They would find the next few balls separately, then rejoin. But for now, this was the breaking of the Fellowship.

  


Stay tuned for Chapter 2 where Vegeta finds that flying solo isn't always easy!


	2. Chapter2: Vegeta's tale

Chapter 2: Vegeta's tale

The Fellowship of the Balls had been broken, but the Fellowship of the ring was still very much together and hating every minute of it. Gimli took a long draw of his pipe. "Man, that's some good weed!" he said, and coughed. He passed the pipe to Legolas who took a longer draw. "Wow!" he said. "This is some good shit! Aragorn, you gotta try this!" Gandalf looked disapprovingly at Aragorn, and temptation was lost. The hobbits were walking in front. Fully rested, they had their strength back and were able to walk at speed once again. Frodo turned to Gandalf and said something quietly to him. Aragorn took this as his chance to get high with the elf and dwarf. "Quick", he said, motioning to Legolas to give him the pipe. "Sure", said Legolas, looking up from his now narrow eyes. Aragorn checked to see of Gandalf was watching, which he wasn't, then inhaled a large draw of the drug. "Holy shit!" he exclaimed. "I never knew pipe weed could pack such a hit!" He passed the pipe back to Gimli and suddenly felt the air around him caress his skin in a way it never had before. Legolas and Gimli laughed. "He's stoned", said Legolas, pointing and laughing at the ranger. "Hehehe", said Gimli. "The king is stoned". "hehehe…yeah", replied Aragorn, and they all laughed some more. It was then that Aragorn noticed Anduril, his blade. He took it from it's sheath and held it in front of him. "Whoah!" he said, looking amazed. "Anduril's so…big!" Legolas and Gimli laughed grinned. "It can reach Mordor from here!" exclaimed Aragorn, and brought the sword down in front of him, realising it couldn't reach Mordor. This had just been an illusion. He laughed and swung the weapon around. It hit Gimli in the back of the head. "hehe. That was trippy", said Gimli. "I'm wearing armour. Is that a coincidence or what?" Legolas broke into a fit of the giggles, and this inspired Aragorn to do likewise. Finally Sam noticed them, and saw Boromir about to take a draw of the pipe. "Mister Gandalf" he said, tugging at the wizard's robes. "Legolas and Gimli are getting everyone stoned". Gandalf turned round. "Quick!" shouted Gimli. "Hide the pipe!" Legolas took it and hid it behind his back. They did their best to act normal, but Aragorn couldn't wipe the grin off his face. "I'm warning you", said Gandalf in a stern face. "Don't get anyone else stoned. It's bad enough with you two, without the future king of Gondor being able to think straight. And don't even think about giving Boromir a draw. He's been off the stuff for a year now". He turned round and the two friends laughed again. Legolas presented the pipe to Boromir, who simply looked away. The elf shrugged his shoulders and put the pipe away. "Am I tripping?" he said. Looking up, a large blade was hurtling towards them at great speed. From its trajectory, it looked like it had been thrown from far over the mountains, possible from a nearby village. He wasn't sure if it was a trip or not, so he didn't say anything. He just looked at it in amazement. Then Pippin spotted it. "Look out!" he screamed. They all looked up to where he was pointing, and the blade came down and landed in Frodo's shoulder. "AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" screamed Frodo. Aragorn quickly straightened up. "He's been stabbed by a Morgul blade…..Again!" he exclaimed.

Vegeta had not looked back since the company had parted. He was glad to finally be alone, and reckoned he would have all seven dragonballs by now if he had gone solo from the start. The ball was in the Northwest of middle earth, and he had a clear picture of the area it was in from looking at Goku's scouter. He remembered the exact location, and if the ball remained there, finding it would be easy. He decided to travel north first. Looking down, he saw a large part of Middle Earth. He could see Mordor, in all its barren glory, Gondor, the Emyn Muils, and the mountain Caradhras, He took no notice of any of the scenery and flew on. Looking down, directly below him he spotted a group of travellers. They seemed to be struggling with a large blade. He ignored them too and flew on, taking a more westerly course. The radar beeped in his head. It made it easier to visualise the position of the ball even though he didn't have the object with him. After a couple of hours flying, he spotted a large forest. This, if he wasn't mistaken, was the location of the dragonball.

After landing, Vegeta surveyed his surroundings. The trees seemed to be watching him. They looked as if they might come alive at any moment and attack him. The trees seemed angry. He walked around for a while, searching the wide forest, but found nothing. This would not be easy, but he was up to the challenge, or at least he thought he was. Had he known what lay ahead, he might have thought twice about going solo.

The shock countered the effect of the weed and Aragorn quickly ran to Frodo's assistance. "Legolas" he called, beckoning the elf. "Waaaaasssssuuuuupppp??????" answered Legolas, his tongue hanging out. It was no use asking Legolas for help; he was too out of it. Aragorn had been hoping the elf was skilled in the art of healing, as most were. Elrond had managed to cure Frodo of the stab he had received on Weathertop and before that, Glorfindel had managed to prolong the time it took for the poison to spread. Legolas probably could have found the right leaf to help Frodo, but there was only one type of leaf he was interested in at the moment. This meant Aragorn had to take matters into his own hands…his healing hands! He was the king, and the king was, after all, said to have healing hands. He took a cloth and wet it with some water. Putting it to the wound, he cleaned the infected area and did his best to work most of the poison out. He then placed his hand on Frodo's shoulder and pressed down on it lightly. Frodo stopped screaming for a moment. He suddenly didn't feel the pain anymore. Sitting up, he looked in amazement at Aragorn. "So it's true", he said. "You _are_ the king!" Aragorn nodded and stood up. "You should be fine now Frodo", he said calmly. Gandalf picked Frodo up and they company continued their journey. Legolas and Gimli looked on in amazement. "Whoah!" they said together. "That was sooooo trippy".

Vegeta was now hearing things. The trees had eyes, and he could sense their thoughts, though this was surely impossible. 'They're just trees' he thought, but wasn't convinced. Despite this, he was still pleased when he heard a human voice in the distance. This was the first time he had ever been happy to find someone, but it was more for asking them if they had seen the dragonball than fear. He listened carefully. The words were louder now and he could make them out. 

__

Hey dol! Merry dol! Ring a dong dillo!  
Ring a dong! Hop along! Fal lal the willow!  
Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!

A short, fat man was coming towards him. He was too short to be human, but still plausibly short. He was skipping and dancing along the path directly in front of Vegeta. As he came closer, Vegeta could make him out in more detail. The man was wearing a hat with a feather in it. He had a bright blue waistcoat and green stockings. His boots were yellow, and he had a long, brown beard. His face was also a strange red complexion. Vegeta made eye contact with him, but he carried on singing in a sweet voice.

__

Hey! Come merry dol! Merry dol My darling Light goes the weather-wind and the feathered starling.  
Down along the hill, shining in the…

"Who are you?" asked Vegeta in a stern voice.   
"Why you be a-shouting at old Tom, now?" asked the man, his arms behind his back, stomach pushed out.   
"I asked you a question!" demanded Vegeta.   
"well…", said Tom. "I think this should answer your question". He coughed and opened his mouth.

__

Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow;   
Bright blue his…

"NO MORE SONGS!" shouted Vegeta, interrupting Tom's song. Tom stopped dancing, poised in the position of his last step.   
"I'm Tom Bombadil", he finally answered. "The oldest of all living things".   
"Why are you singing and dancing?" asked Vegeta.   
Tom thought long and hard, smiling all the time. "…I'm a merry fellow!" he finally said. "Join me in a dance my merry friend. Tom's here to lighten your heart with a song by your command". He started dancing again.   
"STOP!" shouted Vegeta, agitated by Tom's antics. "I only came here to look for a dragonball. Have you seen it?"   
"Merry a dil! What be a dragonball?" asked Tom.   
"It's a small shiny orange object with stars in it".   
Tom scratched his chin.

__

Old Tom Bombadil's seen no object orange   
Ding dong, merry a dil….

"What rhymes with orange?"   
"I don't care!" answered Vegeta. "Have you seen a dragonball or not?"   
"No"   
"Okay"   
"No, wait. Tom has!" said the merry fellow.   
"Where is it?" asked Vegeta.   
"Tom won't give it to you", laughed Bombadil and danced away. "So long my merry friend!" he shouted as he ran off into the distance.

Vegeta was growing impatient and chased after the small man who was surprisingly fast, considering he was skipping, and not running. He chased Tom through the vast forest, at times using his singing to locate him. Tom always left a trail for Vegeta's senses. It was as if he wanted to be found. At last, Vegeta worked his way through a mass of bushes and found Tom standing, legs together, on a large rock. It looked like he hadn't spent a breath on the journey. He eyed Vegeta. Smiling.   
"Give me the dragonball!" demanded the saiyan.   
"In good time my friend", said Tom. "First, you must come back and feast with me. Goldberry has prepared a full table, laden with the most succulent fruit in the whole of the west".   
"I'm not hungry", said Vegeta, impatiently. "Where is the dragonball?"   
"Come and stay with Tom", replied the thing, and danced off again. This time, however, Vegeta wasn't going to let him get away. He jumped onto the rock and quickly powered up a Big Bang attack. When the beam was large enough, he aimed it at Tom and encased him in a shower of electricity and sheer energy. He let the beam die, and watched the surrounding trees disintegrate, then stood grinning while the smoke cleared. The area was cleared too. Huge numbers of trees and shrubs were destroyed without a trace left. But Tom was still there. He stood, still smiling, watching Vegeta for a few seconds, then as the saiyan's mouth dropped wide open, started another dance and song.

__

Ding dol, merry a dil! Not far from the shire!   
Old Tom Bombadil, can't be killed by fire!

Vegeta got angry and began firing rapid bursts of ki pulses at Tom. Every one of them seemed to go straight through him, and Tom was unharmed.   
"I told you I can't be hurt by fire", said Tom disapprovingly. "Now, won't you come and feast with Tom? The water is pure and the food is plenty". Tom danced off again, singing to himself, and Vegeta realised he had no choice but to follow Bombadil. Tom went slower this time, and Vegeta was able to keep up easily. In time, they reached a small cottage. The door was answered by a beautiful elf dressed in a white robe, a lilly-chain around her head, and also her waist. "Hello", she said, welcoming Vegeta. "I am Goldberry, the River Daughter". Vegeta grunted and folded his arms. "I only came here to get the dragonball", he said.   
"And get you will!" said Tom. "All in due time. But first, you must dine with me and the fair River Daughter. If you would like to wash first, there's a basin and water in the washroom".   
"I don't want to wa…."   
"If you would like to wash first, there's a basin and water in the washroom", interrupted Tom.   
Vegeta made his way to the washroom and took off his clothes, squeezing into the small, hobbit-sized basin. 'This is ridiculous', he thought. It was too small to wash in, so he splashed the water for a few minutes, then put his clothes back on and went back to Tom, who stood by the table.   
"You didn't wash", said Tom.   
"How do you know?" asked Vegeta.   
"Tom knows!" replied Tom. It was no answer Vegeta could comprehend, but true nonetheless. "Come, take a seat. The table is set my friend", said Tom, offering Vegeta a place by his side. Goldberry sat at one end of the table, and Tom at the other. Vegeta sat uncomfortably; the seats were hobbit-sized also. "Eat" commanded Tom.   
"No!" said Vegeta, now very angry. "I'm not hungry and I won't eat! The only reason I came here was for the dragonball!" He got up and started to make his way to the front door.   
"Come now old Fussypants" said Tom, cheerfully. "If you leave, Tom won't give you the dragonball you desire". This stopped Vegeta in his stride. He ground his teeth and sat at the table again.   
"Eat" said Tom, gesturing to Vegeta to do so. Vegeta took a fw handfuls of fruit and a slice of bread and butter and ate it. "There. Now can I have the dragonball?" he asked.   
"Thank Goldberry for the delightful feast" said Bombadil.   
"Thank you for the feast Goldberry", he said quickly. "Now give me it!" he demanded.   
Tom got up and helped Goldberry clear the table. "I think you should stay the night", said Tom. There was no point arguing with him. Vegeta had finally realised this.

It was time for bed, and Goldberry wished them a good night. Vegeta got into the tiny bed and tried to find a way to fit his whole body into it without being bent double. He gave up after several attempts and bore the pain and the coldness. The pain was soon overcome by the greater pain he felt as Tom spent half the night telling stories of the forest, of how the elves came to the west, of his encounters with man, and of how he met the River Daughter. Many of these tales involved long songs that were painful to Vegeta, and he grew bored easily. He came close to vomiting a couple of times as he was tired, but the voice wouldn't cease. "Be quiet," said Vegeta, but Tom went on talking as if he hadn't heard Vegeta's plea. Finally Tom fell asleep and Vegeta took his chance to look for the dragonball. He decided to go to the kitchen to begin his search there. Opening the bedroom door he saw Goldberry in front of him. "Were you going to look for the dragonball?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.   
"Yes", said Vegeta, not caring if she knew the truth. "Out of my way woman". But he had spoken too loudly and Tom awoke. "What you be a-doing my merry friend?" he asked.   
"Oh crap!" said Vegeta. "Now the psycho's up!"   
"Go back to sleep. Gain energy and rest well, for tomorrow is another day to dance and sing and be merry".   
'If he says merry one more time, I'll kill him' thought Vegeta. But Tom could not be killed by conventional methods. "Goodnight", said Goldberry, and she tucked Vegeta back into bed. Tom's snoring started to sound like singing. Vegeta didn't get any sleep that night.

The next morning Tom's alarm rang. He put it off and was out of bed five seconds later, not looking the least bit groggy. "Rise and shine my merry friend. The sun is shining and the flowers are dancing for you". Vegeta got out of bed, feeling like a slave and followed Tom to the kitchen where Goldberry had prepared another feast. She was not there however; she was dancing by the river and picking lilies to put in her hair. "Eat", said Tom, and Vegeta humoured him, swallowing several large mouthfuls of food. "Are you not hungry?" asked Tom. "No", sighed Vegeta and rested his head against his arm, but Tom wouldn't take no for an answer. When breakfast was done, he cleared the table and led Vegeta outside. The sun shone on the forest, penetrating the trees and blinding Vegeta who was tired and restless. Tom danced his way to the river and joined Goldberry in a song. Vegeta sat by a rock and listened to the voices as the river began to spin and blur in and out of his vision. He felt woozy, but had a strange grin on his face. Later, Tom led them back home where he and the River Daughter sang some more and ate. Vegeta was hunched over the table, grinning and laughing to himself quietly. It was soon bedtime again, and Vegeta couldn't sleep…again. The sound of singing echoed through his head, though all was quiet. Without meaning to, Tom had broken the saiyan's spirit.

"Good morning!" shouted Tom the next day as his alarm went off.   
"Morning my merry friend dil dol derry iend", replied Vegeta, mumbling, yet smiling.   
"Ready for another day of singing and dancing by the river?" asked Tom.   
"Yes", said Vegeta, and walked as if his body was under someone else's control. Tom took him into the kitchen, and Vegeta sat down. He had learnt the routine by now, and looked at the meal on the table. His eyes scanned the vast array of food. Finally they stopped on something orange. It was an orange! 'Orange', thought Vegeta. 'Orange….Dra…Dragon….dragonball!' In an instant, he regained control of both his mind and body and picked the table up, slamming it to the floor along with its contents. "Give me the dragonball!" he demanded once more. Tom looked sad. "I…I…I just wanted some company", he whimpered. "I was going to give you the ball in a couple of days. It's just…I'm so lonely here in the forest. I mean, The River Daughter is good company, but I think she's cheating on me with the River Son, and I have noone else to talk to."   
"Spare me the sob story!" shouted Vegeta. "Where is the dragonball?"   
Tom went over to the floor and pulled up a loose floorboard. He put his hand in and took out a dragonball. "I was going to give it to Goldberry as a present", he sobbed. Vegeta grabbed it from him and made his way to the door.   
"Wait!" cried Tom.   
"What?" asked Vegeta.   
"Won't you stay a while?" sniffed Tom. Noone had ever upset him before.   
"No", said Vegeta and flew off.

He eyed the dragonball as he flew back to the meeting point. He had been through hell to get this dragonball, but still felt strangely unfulfilled. He was feeling something he didn't feel often. It was guilt. 'Blast you Kakorat', he thought. 'It's your fault I have these emotions now'. He turned around and flew back to the forest. Finding Tom's house, he knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Finally the door opened and Tom looked out smiling. Vegeta looked back at him. "I have returned", he said.

Stay tuned for Chapter 3, where Trunks and Goten make a new friend


	3. Chapter3: There and back again - A Saiya...

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Chapter 3: There and back again: A Saiyan's Tale

The Fellowship of the Ring marched on, keeping to their mountainside path by Gandalf's council. It was getting cold and once again they were tired and hungry. "I got a bad case of the munchies", said Legolas, who was now in said stage of being stoned. Gimli rubbed his stomach and felt it too. "We need food Gandalf!" he shouted. Gandalf looked back sternly and pointed his finger at Gimli. "You _ate_ all our food", he said. "A month's supply you ate for all of us".   
"We might die thanks to you", said Merry.   
"But we've got the munchies", said Legolas. "Isn't there any food at all left?"   
Gandalf turned round and ignored the elf's plea.   
"That was really good weed Legolas", said Gimli. "Where'd you get it?"   
"Mirkwood", replied Legolas. "They make the most potent stuff in the whole of Middle Earth, and it's cheap too."   
Gimli looked interested now.   
"I can do you a deal on any drug you want Gimli", he continued.   
"Really? I'd love that", said the dwarf. "But I thought Mirkwood was an elf forest. Elves aren't concerned with drug dealing, or so I thought."   
"Nah", said Legolas, waving his hand as if to dismiss Gimli's claim. "Mirkwood is drug capital. We just keep it hidden so the rangers won't find out. They'd close our whole operation if they did."   
"What about Strider?" asked Gimli.   
Legolas looked at Aragorn and smiled. "We need people to distribute the drugs for us", he said. "Strider gets around. He travels all over Middle Earth, and since he used to be a junkie, we struck a deal with him."   
Gimli was learning so much. He had no idea about the shady dealings of the elves. He thought long and hard about what Legolas had told him for the next few hours. 

Trunks and Goten had been flying for an hour. They weren't as fast as their parents and had further to fly. Piccolo had not been wise in sending them so far from the meeting point. It was doubtful if they could find their way back, but they had been told the exact location of the dragonball. The wish was also an incentive for them to find it quicker; without it, they would probably go off and play somewhere.   
"Where is it again Trunks?" asked Goten.   
"Um…Piccolo said it's in a mountain I think", replied his friend.   
"When are we going to be there?" asked Goten.   
"Soon", replied Trunks, and they flew on.   
The two young saiyans were not used to such heavy responsibility, and did not realise how important the mission was. Nevertheless, they would do their best.   
Another hours flying brought the mountain into view, and they were suddenly excited. It had been a very boring journey, especially considering the fact that they both had attention spans of less than five seconds.   
"Yippee! We're here! We're here!" shouted Goten, and turned a somersault midair.   
"Wait", said Trunks, looking confused. "How do we know this is the right mountain?"   
"Do you see any other mountains around?" asked Goten.   
"No, I don't. But we might have gone the wrong way."   
"We haven't"   
"How do you know?"   
"I…I just do, okay?"   
This was another thing Piccolo hadn't accounted for when he assigned teams: Trunks and Goten argued often and both were stubborn, especially Trunks. After a brief dispute, they came to an agreement as Trunks realised that if this was the wrong mountain, they now had virtually no chance of finding the right one. They flew down and scanned the area. "We'd better split up and search one side of the mountain each", said Trunks, taking command. Goten nodded and they both flew to the other side. Arriving at the same time, Trunks looked annoyed. "I was taking this side!" he said. Goten stuck his tongue out and flew back to the other side.   
After searching for a few minutes, they had systematically checked every area of the mountain, and had found no dragonball. They met up and discussed their results.   
"Maybe you were right", said Goten. "Maybe this _is _the wrong mountain."   
"I'm not so sure", replied his friend with a curious look on his face. "Stand back".   
Goten stood far back, and Trunks moved his hands together. He powered up a small kamehameha and fired it at the mountain. The blast was loud and fired a large hole into the side of the rock. Goten looked in awe as he saw that the mountain did not collapse. Even more surprisingly was the hollow that had been revealed to them.   
"I thought so", said Trunks. "There's an inside to this mountain".   
"Hooray!" cheered Goten, and they flew into the hole.

The cave was vast and dark. In places the Saiyans couldn't see at all.   
"Ouch!" cried Goten.   
"What is it?" asked Trunks.   
"Another invisible wall", replied Goten.   
"It's not invisible Goten. It's just too dark in here to see anything. This is useless".   
"Let's go super saiyan Trunks. Then we'll be able to see better".   
"Okay. I don't think we have any other choice".   
They both stood side by side, arms erect, and at the same time, let out a huge burst of energy as they began to glow a golden colour, their hair turning gold and their eyes turning green. They could see the cave now illuminated, and the walls were revealed to them. They made their way through a small hole in the wall and found themselves on a ledge, high above of a giant hollow. A stream ran through the bottom of the cave and tiny droplets of water dripped into it from stalactites, replenishing its water supply. There was, however, no sign of a dragonball. Both saiyans dropped to the bottom of the hollow room to search. They were filled with a confidence that could only be possessed by a child too young to have learnt the harsh realities of life. Goten landed first, followed by Trunks. When they had both touched the ground, a loud scream came from the next room in the cave. Trunks looked at Goten who looked back at him. They nodded to each other and immediately ran to the source of the noise.

The adjacent room was a lot smaller than what seemed to be the main part of the cave. Rocks were arranged in a way that made them easy to climb, a bit of a coincidence. The whole area seemed to show signs of sentient influence, from the unnaturally clean hollows (which nothing in the cave could have had the power to dig out at any time) to the rocky staircases that led up to the ledge Goten and Trunks had stood on earlier. A whimper could be heard in the corner. It was the same pitch as the previous scream they had heard. Curious, they moved towards the source. As they did, a small creature came into the light. He was skinny and had a greyish-blue complexion. His eyes were large and his skin looked rubbery. In addition, he couldn't have been more than one and a half times the size of the young saiyans. He lay, rolled up in a ball, cowering with his hands over his eyes.   
"No light, go away! Smeagol hate light, Nasty light!" said the creature.   
"Um…do you want us to put the light out?" asked Trunks.   
"Yes…put out light, please. Smeagol no like light". His hands were glued to his eyes.   
Trunks immediately suppressed his chi and went back to normal saiyan mode. Goten followed suit and the room went dark.   
"Thank you, good saiyans. Kind saiyans help Smeagol. Smeagol grateful".   
"Are you Smeagol?" asked Trunks.   
* Gollum * The creature made a strange noise in his throat. * Gollum * it came again.   
"What's that noise you're making?" asked Goten, still curious as to the nature of the creature.   
"Bad noise. Smeagol not well. Big peoples call Smeagol Gollum."   
"How did you know we were saiyans?" asked Trunks.   
"Smeagol know all about saiyans. Smeagol tell from nasty light, but kind saiyanses stop light. Good saiyanses!"   
"Well". Continued Trunks. "Since we helped you, do you think you could help us?"   
"Yes. Smeagol help. Smeagol grateful!"   
"Okay. Have you seen any shiny orange objects around? We're looking for one. It's called a dragonball."   
"No. Smeagol not see dragonball." Goten and Trunks could not see, but Gollum had a worried expression on his face. "Smeagol go now". He got down on all fours and crawled up the rocky staircase.   
Goten looked at Trunks, waiting for orders as he wasn't sure what to do. "Do you think we should follow him?" he suggested.   
"I dunno…he's the only one who can help us and he probably knows the cave pretty well. I guess that's a good idea." 

He led the way, and they climbed the staircase, tracking Gollum by the sound of his footsteps and by sensing his chi. They tracked him to a small, dome-shaped room and stood outside, listening. Gollum could be heard muttering to himself:   
"Nasty little saiyanses. No take new Precious. Bad hobbit take old Precious, but Gollum not let saiyanses take new Precious. Gollum hurt nasty saiyanses. Make them scream."   
"Did you heard that Trunks? He says he's gonna make us scream".   
"nah. We can sense his chi, remember? He's too weak to do that".   
"But Trunks, what if he's hiding his power?"   
Trunks' eyes widened. He hadn't considered that possibility. They could be up against an enemy far superior to them in strength. This called for a new battle plan. "Let's go ask him nicely for the dragonball. He probably knows where it is", he said, and they walked into the room.   
"Uh…Mister Smeagol?" asked Trunks.   
"No take Precious, good Precious, nasty…AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Gollum nearly jumped out of his saggy skin. "Little saiyanses make Smeagol jump. What you want?"   
"We were wondering if you could tell us where the dragonball is. We really need to find it".   
Gollum jumped to his feet. "Gollum not seen dragonball! Go away!"   
Goten went Super Saiyan.   
"Yup. There it is", he said, pointing to the dragonball that had now been revealed by the light.   
"No light! Put out light!" cried Gollum, but Goten wouldn't listen. He went over to the dragonball and took it. Gollum dived at him, screaming. "Nasty saiyanses not take new Precious!" he shouted as he bit Goten's hand hard."   
"Yow!" screamed Goten. "He IS strong, he IS strong!"   
"Keep hold of the ball and run for it!" said Trunks, turning Super Saiyan so he could see again, and making a beeline for the exit.   
"I can't!" cried Goten, nursing his hand, as Gollum grabbed the ball. He stroked it and comforted it. "Gollum not let little saiyanses take new Precious", he said, and crawled on all fours out a small hole in the room.   
"Trunks, Help me!" shouted Goten. Trunks, who had made it back to the ledge, heard his friend's cry for help and jumped back down, making his way back to Gollum's hideout. Goten was shaking his hand violently. Had he been human, his hand would have been halfway down Gollum's narrow throat by now, but luckily he was a Saiyan, so it was only bruised.   
"He got away," said Goten.   
"Damn", replied Trunks. "We're dealing with a far superior power here". 

Gollum had made it out the back of the mountain. It was still daytime, and to make it worse, the sun was shining bright. He had to put his hate for the light aside for the moment though; he had to protect the new Precious at all costs. Bilbo had stolen the old Precious, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. He ignored the light and ran as fast as he could down the mountain. Luckily, the sun was on the other side, and he could travel in the mountain's shadow, keeping him safe from the light for the moment. After that, he would only have to run for a few minutes before reaching the forest which would provide more shelter for him. One thing was for sure: Noone was going to steal Gollum's new Precious.

"Which was did he go?" asked Trunks, anxiously.   
"That way", said Goten, pointing to the hole Gollum had escaped through, but Trunks was already halfway through it when he looked up. "C'mon!" he shouted from the other side. Goten crawled through and they could see a beam of light penetrating one of the walls. 'That must be where he's gone', thought Trunks, seeing that there was nowhere else he could have gone other than outside.   
"Wait Trunks!" shouted Goten, catching up. "Would he really have gone outside? He hates the light, remember?"   
"I know", replied Trunks, "But he also seems desperate. Besides, I can sense a small chi outside".   
The crack in the wall was very narrow. It prove too narrow for the two saiyans to fit through. Gollum would have been able to fit only because he was so scrawny. "Stand back", said Trunks, and blasted the wall open, creating a gap even Majin Buu could fit through. They couldn't see Gollum, but used his chi to follow him. 

He had travelled far in such a small space of time. Too far for his body to handle for much longer if he kept going at his present rate. He was out of breath and looked back constantly out of paranoia, which only used up more of his energy. The new Precious was tucked safely under his arm, and he kept a watchful eye on that too. Finally, he knew he would have to rest, or else collapse. He stopped by a tree and took comfort in the fact that the forest sheltered him not only from the light, but also from the saiyans. He was very out of breath now after having run so fast. He was faster on all fours, but carrying the Precious meant he had to run on two legs, which was hard for him. Looking up from his seat on the ground, he saw Goten and Trunks flying over him. This sent him into a state of panic and he ignored his weariness, digging a hole in the earth as quick as he could, and burying the dragonball in it. He watched his two enemies fly past and heaved a sigh of relief. Then suddenly they turned around and circled the area like vultures. They had found him.

"I think he's directly below us", said Goten.   
"Yeah. I sense him", said Trunks.   
They descended and found themselves in a forest.   
"Drat!" said Trunks. "He could be hiding anywhere here!"   
"Mister Gollum!" shouted Goten.   
"He's not going to answer you Goten", said Trunks. "Duh!"   
Goten laughed, and went to look for him.   
Little did they know, Gollum had been watching them from the moment they landed. He took this opportunity to sneak away, but not before digging up the dragonball again. He cleaned the dirt off it and ran.   
"Did you see that?" asked Trunks?   
"See what?" asked Goten.   
Trunks began running, dodging the trees, following a small, moving object in the distance. Gollum had got a good head start on them, but they were faster than him.   
Goten saw it too now. He quickly hatched a plan and took to the sky. It would be faster to fly over the trees, and he could still see Gollum between the gaps in the forest. When he had flown far enough ahead of Gollum, he landed and stopped the creature in his tracks. Gollum jumped and changed direction, but Trunks was standing behind him; he was trapped. 

"Please! No hurt poor Smeagol!" pleaded Gollum, dropping to his knees. He looked genuinely afraid. 'He doesn't seem so tough', thought Trunks. He knew getting the dragonball would be no problem now. "Can we have the dragonball now?" he asked, not wanting to simply grab it for fear of being bit.   
"No. Smeagol keep new Precious", he replied. It was no use moving as he was blocked in all directions; he knew by now that the saiyans could find and catch him wherever he was, but he was under the spell of the dragonball. If he couldn't have old Precious, he had to have new Precious. Trunks went over to Goten and they spoke out of range of Gollum's hearing. They still watched him though out of the corner of their eyes, not trusting him for a second.   
"Gee Goten. I kinda feel bad for the guy. Is there anything we can give him in return for the dragonball?"   
"I dunno Trunks. We have nothing on us that he'll want".   
"Okay. Leave it to me then".   
Trunks approached Gollum, who backed off, moving his hands up to protect himself. The young saiyan proceeded to unleash a huge burst of energy, producing a large amount of light. Gollum yelped and backed off. "Turn out light! Please! Poor Smeagol!"   
"Give me the ball and I won't kill you", said Trunks sternly, looking down at the wretched creature.   
"Smeagol give new Precious to little saiyanses and they not kill Smeagol?" asked Gollum.   
"That's right", said Trunks with a serious look on his face. Smeagol thought long and hard. Then, taking one last look at the Precious, he handed it over to Trunks. "I'm sorry we have nothing to give you in return Gollum, but we really need this."

He flew off with Goten and they returned to normal saiyan mode. As they got further away from the forest, Gollum's screams and cries died down and they no longer felt guilty.   
"That wasn't so hard", said Goten, smiling.   
"Yeah. I know. What shall we do now? We can go back to the meeting point, or find some trolls to play with."   
"By play with, do you mean toy with them till they get angry enough to kill us, then realise they can't, making them even more angry so that they get even more tough, repeating the cycle in an infinite loop?" asked Goten.   
"Um…yeah", replied Trunks.   
"Let's go!" he shouted, and they both changed direction for a little fun before reporting back to the rest of the company.

Stay tuned for Chapter 4 where Krillan, Yamcha, Gohan and Videl encounter severe hostility.


	4. Chapter4: A trip to Isengard

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Chapter 4: A trip to Isengard

It was late in the afternoon and a group of Urah-Hai, sent forth from Isengard, was travelling east across Middle Earth in the search for hobbits. They had been travelling for days and, in typical orc fashion, were becoming suspicious of each other. Among the company, the greatest rivalry was between Ugluk (whom Saruman had put in charge) and Grishnakh. This feud had been forming and growing nicely since they departed from Isengard, but the others took no notice of it as it provided a bit of entertainment and the possibility of a killing or a fight to the death for control. Saruman didn't care who led the troop so long as they completed their mission. He would destroy them once he no longer needed them anyway.   
"We're going the wrong way!" hissed Grishnakh.   
"ugo y na telos phim a furo!" replied Ugluk.   
"say what?" asked Grishnakh.   
"Sorry. Had something stuck in my throat. I was trying to say we're heading east towards the Emyn Muil as Lord Saruman instructed".   
"This isn't East", said Grishnakh. "We're going west".   
"No we're not. Don't you know how to work a compass?"   
"Of course I do. I'm holding it now and it reads west. We'll soon be in man's territory and then we'll all be dead".   
"Lemme see….oh for the love of…"   
"What is it?" interrupted Grishnakh.   
"You've somehow managed to reverse the polarity of this thing".   
"No I haven't. You just can't admit when you're wrong can you?"   
"Of course I can! Look over your head. You see those birds there? Birds fly North for the winter, so we must be going east"   
"Birds fly _south _stupid! Anyway, it's not even winter yet"   
Another of the Uruk-Hai interrupted them: "Honestly. You two are like an old married couple!"   
Ugluk and Grishnakh stopped fighting and looked round. It was a small orc who had said it. They each drew an arrow and quickly ended his life.   
"Finally, something we agree on", said Ugluk, and they continued on their way.

Meanwhile, the team of Gohan, Krillan, Yamcha and Videl were flying west in search of the dragonball they had been sent to find. Having each studied the radar carefully, they knew the precise location of it. Little did they know, however, that the ball was in Isengard, and that in Isengard lay a terrible army of demons increasing in number by the minute. Nerves were fraying and tension was building among the friends.   
"We're going the wrong way!" said Videl.   
"No we're not", replied Gohan. "We're flying west".   
"This is East Gohan".   
"I'm telling you, it's west Videl".   
"Honestly. You two are like an old married couple", said Krillan. Gohan and Videl both smiled at the remark and wondered if they ever would be married. They were, in fact, heading in the right direction, which prove that women have no sense of direction.   
"I wonder how the others are doing", said Yamcha. Noone dignified him with a response; They all secretly hoped he's be written out of the story sometime soon cause he was so weak and boring.   
"I just hope we don't run into any trouble on the way", said Krillan. "It might force me to state the obvious, get over-excited or make a sarcastic comment, and then you guys'll get annoyed and wanna kill me".   
"That's true", said Gohan. "But if we killed you we couldn't bring you back to life with the dragonballs since you've already been dead twice". The others all smiled at this and got the same idea.   
"Well, I'll try and not say anything anyway. I know how annoying my voice can be".   
Everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief at this although they knew in their hearts that Krillan couldn't keep quiet for more than a minute.

Grishnakh watched Ugluk from the corner of his eye; he didn't trust him for a second if he wasn't in his sight. The others watched them both and made secret bets on who would kill who first. The smart money was on Ugluk since Grishnakh was not in command and therefore might still be willing to follow orders for the sake of Saruman. They had not, however, factored in the fact that Grishnakh doubted Saruman's methods. Even still, Ugluk was stronger and taller, and could probably take Grishnakh with one arm tied behind his back. Watching Ugluk closer than the rest of the Uruk-Hai, Grishnakh was the first to see him stop.   
"What are you doing?" he asked. "You're wasting time!"   
"Look above you", commanded Ugluk.   
Apart from Grishnakh, they all looked up. Then Grishnakh cautiously lifted his head and hoped that he had not just made himself vulnerable to an attack from his leader. He saw what the others saw: Flying objects in the sky; UFOs. "Perhaps it's the Nazgul", he suggested.   
"No", hissed Ugluk. "The Nazgul aren't that fast. Not even the Windlord is that fast".   
"Shoot it down", hissed Grishnakh.   
"I'm in command and I give the orders!" shouted Ugluk. "You shoot it down!"   
Grishnakh reluctantly drew his bow and fired an arrow at the UFO. It hit its target, but the thing did not fall.

"Ouch!" said Gohan and grabbed the cause of the sharp pain he now felt in his side. "It's a broken arrow!" The arrow had broken against his tough saiyan skin upon impact. Looking down, they spied the Uruk-Hai, and more arrows were being fired at them.   
"Who are those guys?" asked Yamcha, catching an arrow that would have otherwise hit him. Gohan was too busy shielding Videl and Krillan didn't want to answer. They waited till the firing stopped, then followed Gohan as he flew down to find out what was going on.   
Gohan landed and faced the Uruk-Hai, a serious expression in his face. "Why are you firing arrows at us?" he asked.   
"Are you in command of your company?" asked Ugluk, ignoring Gohan's question.   
Gohan thought before answering. Noone was in command as such, but it would be easier to deal with these creatures if they had a leader. "Yes", he replied. "I'm in command".   
"Why are you travelling towards Isengard?" asked Ugluk, starting to take control of the situation.   
"We're only travelling to find a dragonball", answered Gohan. "If it happens to be in Isengard, then that's where we'll be going. If it's not, we'll keep well away from Isengard."   
"What's a dragonball?" hissed Grishnakh, earning a look of contempt from Ugluk who didn't like it when anyone spoke out of turn.   
"It's a small orange ball with stars on it" said Gohan, not wanting to tell them the purpose of the object.   
Ugluk gasped in shock. 'The Palantir', he thought to himself. He wasn't supposed to know about it, but had spied Saruman using it one day. As far as he could tell, Saruman was using it as a means of communication, to whom Ugluk did not know. What he did know was that Saruman valued the Palantir greatly and would not let anyone else even see it, other than perhaps Wormtongue (AKA Grima), his faithful servant. "That belongs to Saruman", hissed Ugluk. You will never obtain it." He drew a large sword and swung at Gohan. The others did likewise.   
Krillan, Yamcha and Videl, who had been watching from the distance, rushed over to Gohan's aid. Krillan raised his hand and shouted "Destructo Disk!" as a small ki disk grew rapidly above him. An orc charged at him, but he released the disk in time and cut it in half before it could reach him. It went on to decapitate three more of the Uruk-Hai before disintegrating against a large tree. Meanwhile, Gohan was engaged in hand to hand combat with Ugluk, except Ugluk was using a sword. Gohan dodged the weapon at every swing before finally catching it between his hands. He struggled to bring it up to a safe level as fighting went on all around him. Ugluk laughed, feeling victory upon him, and increased the pressure. Realising he had no other option, Gohan turned Super Saiyan and snapped the blade in half, hurtling the sharp end towards another of the Uruk-Hai, who caught it with his neck and fell dead upon impact. Gohan had the upper hand now, and Ugluk panicked.   
Meanwhile, Krillan and Yamcha had teamed up. They were firing rapid bursts of ki at the enemy. The ones that hit had a devastating impact, each one killing an Uruk-Hai or an orc. Beginning to grow tired, they decided on a more direct approach and used their fists as weapons in order to conserve energy. Videl was using her fists too. She had already killed an orc which wasn't bad for someone her size and strength. Now she was struggling against a larger opponent who outmatched her in strength. They had been fighting for several minutes and the others seemed to ignore them both. When she finally killed it, exactly half the Uruk-Hai were dead.   
Gohan was ready to destroy Ugluk, and charged at him, full force. He zanzookened behind him, but soon found he had made a grave error; Grishnakh grabbed him and pummelled him into the ground. Apparently he still had some sense of duty. Either that or he wanted to be the one to finish off Ugluk. The two Uruk-Hai teamed up for once, causing Gohan to feel a tremendous amount of pain. He was weary, even as a Super Saiyan, and couldn't dodge them. He had one option left. Letting out an enormous explosion of energy, he turned Super Saiyan 2 and quickly jumped to his feet. His hair stood on end and blue surges of electricity circled his body. Ugluk and Grishnakh backed off in terror.   
Krillan and Yamcha had killed many more of the Uruk-Hai and noticed there were only five left, (other than Ugluk and Grishnakh), huddled up together. They both put their hands together and powered up simultaneous beams. "Ka…me…ha…me…haaaaaa!!!!!!!!!" they screamed as the beams flew from their bodies and exploded on the enemy. "Alright!" shouted Krillan, annoying Yamcha greatly. They shook each other's hands and beckoned Videl to join them. She was standing amidst a pile of broken orc bones and guts, looking very pleased with herself. She walked over to her friends, and noticed them both panicking suddenly. "Look out!" they screamed. Turning round, she saw an orc they had missed. He had fired an arrow at her before she had seen him, and it landed in her thigh as she spotted him. Screaming, she fell to the ground. Krillan jumped over to the orc and kicked his head off before Videl landed. Rushing back, he found Yamcha by her side and joined him.

Deeper into the forest, the fight between Ugluk, Grishnakh and Gohan raged on. They had no idea how far they had travelled from the rest of the battle and also no idea as to what had happened to their troops. Gohan was being swung at by Grishnakh's sword, and dived back until he could find an opportunity to attack. Ugluk watched and laughed, once again feeling victory upon him. He was unaware that Grishnakh was his only remaining warrior though. Ugluk walked alongside him, distracting Gohan, taunting him mercilessly as his fighter kept up the attack. "Not so tough now, are you, Super Saiyan?" he said, leaning as far in to Gohan's face as he could. This would be his bane; Grishnakh swung his sword to the side, slicing off his commander's head. "Oops!" he said, looking at what he had done. Gohan spotted his opportunity and shouted "Masenka-ho!" as a spiralling beam of energy flew from his hands towards the last of the Uruk-Hai. This would be Grishnakh's bane.

"Is she hurt?" asked Krillan.   
"Duh!" replied Yamcha.   
Videl screamed in agony.   
"Do you think we should pull the arrow out?"   
"I dunno. Better leave it till Gohan gets here."   
At that moment Gohan arrived, running as fast as he could. He was eager to boast his killings, but then he spotted Videl. "What happened?" he asked, running to her side.   
"She got hit by an arrow", said Krillan. "It's still in her as you can see."   
"AND NEITHER OF YOU THOUGHT TO PULL IT OUT?!?!?!??!" shouted Gohan. He pulled the arrow ou and noticed the poison on its tip. Cleaning the wound, he knew there was no way he could suck all the poison out of her. Besides, she'd probably scream rape if he did. "Someone has to take to her to Dende", he said at last.   
"I'll go", said Yamcha. "I'm sure you all want me written out the story anyway".   
"Thanks", said Gohan. "That kills two birds with one stone".   
Yamcha picked up Videl and nodded to his partners before flying off.   
"Hurry!" screamed Gohan, as they disappeared into the distance.   
Krillan looked up at Gohan and smiled. "Looks like after all these years we're finally back together as a team, eh Gohan?"   
Gohan rolled his eyes. "I think that creature said something about the dragonball being in Isengard."   
"Yeah, but how are we going to get there? We have no idea where Isengard is!"   
"Yes, but I have a feeling these creatures are from Isengard, and they left a trail. All we have to do is follow their footprints, and we should be there in no time."   
Krillan agreed, and they both set off in search for Isengard. 

A few hours of walking was all it took to reach Isengard. That either meant the Uruk-Hai had not been sent out long ago, in which case they probably wouldn't be missed for a while, or they were slow walkers. The latter case certainly didn't show in their fighting ability, so Gohan concluded they must have been sent out that day. He was not sure of the reason though. He remembered Ugluk had said something about someone called Saruman. He wondered if Saruman was more powerful than the Uruk-Hai. If he wasn't, he probably wouldn't be able to control them without an incentive. Whatever was going on in Isengard, he knew they would have to be careful; those creatures they fought were tough and there would almost certainly be more waiting for them when they arrived. All these thoughts went through his head on the journey. Krillan thought of sex and ways to get a girlfriend.   
"Hey Gohan. What are we going to wish for when we find all seven balls?"   
"Don't bother me now Krillan. I'm trying to think up a plan."   
"Oh. Okay. Don't let me bother you and your big plans then Gohan. I see you have no time for me now that you're a big-shot Super Saiyan".   
Gohan sighed. "Look, I'm sorry Krillan. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. It's just that we have to find the dragonball. We got held up pretty bad back there and the others have probably all found theirs by now."   
"I know Gohan", said Krillan looking very upset. "It's just…it's just…all those years ago, back when we were sent to Namek…well, we were a team back then. I know you were only five at the time, but we were a great team. Ever since you became a Super Saiyan, I just feel like you have no time for me anymore, like I don't matter to you."   
"Krillan?"   
"Yes Gohan?"   
"This is the gayest argumet I've ever had in my life, and I'm not taking it any further".   
Krillan shrugged his shoulders.   
They stood by the outer wall of Isengard. It was twenty feet tall and spiked at the top to prevent unwanted company from getting in. Gohan flew over it, and Krillan followed. Now inside the fortress, they could see masses of beasts and demons at work. Some were fighting, some mining and other forging weapons. Thousands of Saruman's minions walked the grounds. In other parts of Isengard, trees were being torn down by the dozen. There weren't many left from what Gohan and Krillan could see, and the ones that were left would soon be gone. It made no sense. High up in a tower, a man in a white robe stood by a window watching the chaos. He had a long white beard and white hair. Gohan saw him, but the man wasn't aware of his presence. He then disappeared out of sight as he moved away from the window.   
"Did you see him?" asked Gohan.   
"Yeah", said Krillan. "He doesn't look like the rest of these monsters."   
"Do you think he could be Saruman?"   
"There's a good chance. Shall we go check him out?"   
"Okay."   
They flew outside Isengard again and high into the sky. Reaching the clouds, they descended upon the tower and slid down to the window the man was standing by, unnoticed. They looked in and saw him now standing by a table, looking at a round object with a cloth over it. After removing the cloth, Gohan and Krillan could both see clearly that this was the dragonball. The man looked into it and spoke. Images seemed to appear in the ball as if by magic, and the power emanating from it could be felt by the two z-fighters. After a brief conversation, the ball was re-covered and the man left the room.   
"Come on", said Gohan, flying through the glassless window. They walked round the room, noticing nothing strange about it. Krillan removed the cloth from the dragonball again and looked into it. Suddenly, he found images pouring into his head and he felt as if he had been dragged into another world. Dark clouds surrounded him, and he could see nothing apart from a volcano and miles of barren land. An eye flew out from the mountain to meet him, and a husky voice sounded in his head. It seemed to be laughing at him, mocking him by feeding off his own insecurities. Krillan was terrified; He had to end this now. He closed his eyes and took his hands off the dragonball, knocking it to the ground.   
"Krillan, be careful", said Gohan.   
"Sorry", replied Krillan. "Acid flashback".   
He took the dragonball and they got ready to leave, but a tall, scrawny man blocked their exit.   
"What are you doing with the Palantir?" he asked.   
"It's not a Palantir. It's a dragonball, and we're taking it", said Gohan.   
"No you're not", said the man. It was Wormtongue; Saruman's servant/pet. He grinned and allowed Saruman to read his thoughts. In a minute, the man with the white beard and cloak was back in the room looking very annoyed. He pointed a long staff at the z fighters and they lost control of their bodies. Saruman pointed his staff at the door and they both flew into the main pillar of the tower of Orthanc against their will. He then pointed the staff upwards, and they shot up to the roof of the tower where they would remain his prisoners.

The two friends awoke and rubbed their heads. The air was heavy at this high an altitude and they both had bad headaches. The last thing they could remember was Saruman pointing his staff at them, then everything went black. Gohan looked around. They were on the roof of Orthanc and all he could see was a platform. There were no stairs or doors or anything. He wondered how Saruman had got them up there. Krillan looked to be in some amount of pain and finally rose to his feet, but not before he lost control of his body again. Saruman had joined them, and he was holding the dragonball.   
"Welcome to Orthanc", he said. "My name is Saruman the White and I shall be your host. Anything you need, don't bother asking for, cause I won't get it for you. You shall remain my prisoners forever, and the Palantir shall stay with me from now on."   
Gohan struggled to break free of the spell.   
"Oh, and don't bother trying to fly away", continued Saruman. "The roof of this tower has a magic shield around it. You won't be able to penetrate it. Goodbye", he added as a side note.   
They regained control of their bodies as Saruman left and fell to the floor.   
"Any more great plans?" asked Krillan, sarcastically.   
Gohan looked angry now. He had lost his patience and sarcasm wasn't helping. Especially Krillan's annoying brand of it.   
"Do you want me to kill you Krillan?" he asked.   
"Um..no", said Krillan. "I'll keep quiet now". He smiled a stupid smile.   
Gohan sat in silence, looking disappointed with himself and showing no sign of wanting to do anything constructive. Krillan decided to try something. He flew up and hit his head hard on an invisible object, then fell to the floor again. "Guess he wasn't kidding about that magic shield", he said, rubbing his head once more. Gohan said nothing. He could see it was getting dark now. Suddenly, Krillan jumped up, excited. "Hey! Why don't we blast through the floor?" he asked.   
Gohan looked interested now.   
"It doesn't look that tough. Hey, I bet even I could do it!"   
"Go for it then", said Gohan.   
Krillan aimed a kamehameha at the stone floor and fired it. The floor shook, but didn't show signs of breaking. Gohan got to his feet and helped his friend. They both fired large kamehamehas at the ground, and finally a crack appeared. The stones started to give way and rise from the floor. Finally, in a huge explosion, it was gone, and the impact sent them both into the magic shield. They hit their heads, then fell down through the hole they had created. Orthanc was large, and they were too sore to fly, so they dropped several hundred feet to the bottom of it.

They were unconscious for several hours. When they awoke, they both had bad headaches. Krillan nursed his bald head while Gohan rubbed his eyes and waited till they adjusted to the light. He realised they must have been out all night. The last thing he remembered was falling, then everything went black. Looking round, he saw that they were back on the roof. The next thing he noticed was the towering figure of Saruman standing over them. "Ah, you're awake now I see", he said. "As you can see, you're back on the roof and under my jurisdiction once more. Here you shall remain indefinitely until I find a use for you both". He turned around, then stopped. "Oh yes", be continued. "Don't try escaping again. I reinforced the floor with a magic seal. No amount of power can break through it now". Gohan rubbed his eyes again. When he re-opened them, Saruman was gone.   
Krillan was able to think now. He looked at Gohan, expecting him to recite Plan B, but Gohan had nothing.   
"Wanna blast the floor again?" asked Krillan.   
"Sure", replied Gohan.   
They both powered up large kamehameha beams. "Kamehameha!!!!!" they screamed as they fired them simultaneously. They hit the floor and had no effect. Gohan turned Super Saiyan and tried again. Nothing happened. He turned Super Saiyan 2 and tried once more. Again, nothing happened. He sat down, defeated.   
"Guess he wasn't kidding about that magic seal", said Krillan, rubbing his head. "What'll we do now?"   
"Nothing", replied Gohan.   
"What?? You mean we're just going to remain trapped up here?"   
"We don't have any other choice. The roof and floor are both magically sealed."   
"That doesn't sound like the Gohan I know!"   
"Shut up Krillan!"   
"Sorry", said Krillan, covering his mouth.   
"Anyway, I _do_ have a plan", came Gohan suddenly.   
"Really?"   
"Yes. Saruman said we're his prisoners and he might find a use for us. Until he does, he'll have to keep us alive, and in that case he'll have to feed us." Krillan looked intrigued. He hadn't eaten for ages now. "When he comes to give us our food, we'll attack him and escape the way he comes in" continued Gohan.   
"Wow Gohan, you're a genius!" exclaimed Krillan.   
"The ironic thing is, if mom had let me train all those years dad was dead rather than study, I'd probably be strong enough to destroy ten magic floors".

And so they waited. Hours passed and there was n sign of Saruman. Krillan had beaten Gohan fifty five times at 'Stop the bus' and Gohan had beaten Krillan thirty eight times. The game was getting boring now. Krillan lay on the ground, tired and hungry. Gohan was growing weary too. He reached into his pocket and drew two sensu beans. Krillan lifted his head at the sight.   
"You have s…s…sensu beans?" he asked.   
"Yes", replied Gohan. "But only four. Dad gave me one for each of us, but since Yamcha and Videl have left, we can have theirs."   
He ate one and handed one to Krillan. They both felt their energy charge up until they were completely revitalized and back to full health. No longer feeling tired or hungry, they decided to train for a while. They didn't do anything too extraneous though; they would grow tired again soon and there were only two sensu beans left.

Several hours later they were down on the ground again, their bodies slouching at a rate of three inches an hour. Gohan wondered if they should use the other two beans. Before he could decide though, a hatch opened in the floor and in stepped Wormtongue.   
"Lord Saruman sent me to give you…"   
He was cut off mid-sentence as Gohan knocked him out.   
"So that's how they did it!" he said to Krillan. "There was a camouflaged hatch in the floor."   
He jumped through it, followed by Krillan. When they landed, they found themselves standing on the second highest tier of Orthanc.   
"Now to look for the dragonball", said Gohan. "But it's not going to be easy."

Meanwhile, Yamcha had reached Dende's place. He wasn't the fastest flyer, and he had been slowed down even more by the extra weight of Videl. 'I wonder if I….no. That's illegal', he though to himself throughout the journey while looking at the young girl. He saw Dende watching them and landed on one foot. "She's hurt pretty bad", he told the Namek healer. "She got hit by a poisoned arrow."   
"Place her down by my side", said Dende. "I don't know if I can help but I'll… no wait!…yes! I _can _help!"   
Yamcha put Videl down and for the first time Dende noticed how young and supple her body was. He saw how her clothes clung to her tightly and ran his eyes down every curve. 'I wonder if I…'.   
"No!" said Yamcha, reading the young Namek's thought from his body language. "That would be illegal."   
Dende blushed and stretched his hands out. An aura of energy flowed from them and covered Videl. The poison began to disintegrate and the wound closed as if by magic.   
"All done", said Dende. "That'll be £25.00."   
"What?????" shouted Yamcha.   
"Just kidding. Namek humour. So rarely understood by humans."   
"Oh! Don't mind me. I'm just a bit slow", laughed Yamcha.   
"Yes. I know", said Dende, narrowing his eyes.   
Videl stirred and sat up. "What…happened?" she asked.   
"You were hit by a poisoned arrow, but you're okay now", replied Yamcha.   
"Where's Gohan?"   
"I wish I knew", he replied.

"Keep still", said Gohan. "I'll try to sense his ki." He concentrated hard and did his best to locate Saruman. There were so many power levels floating about, but one was insanely higher than the rest. A lot higher than Gohan expected. "Wow!" he said. His power is close to 300,000,000!!"   
"Um…Gohan", said Krillan, tapping his shoulder. "That's _your_ ki".   
"Oh yeah. Oops!" He concentrated again and found another power that was higher than the rest but not as high as his. It had to be Saruman's. "He's in the room we found him in before" he exclaimed, and they flew down to the source of the ki. The room was over the halfway mark of Orthanc and was located, alone, on a narrow corridor. Krillan and Gohan listened outside it and heard Saruman talking to the dragonball again. Krillan thought back to what had happened when he looked into it and shivered.   
Gohan knelt down. "On the count of three, okay? One…two…"   
He burst the door down and charged in. Saruman turned and saw them, raising his staff. Krillan remembered what happened the last time Saruman used his staff and shouted "Destructo disk!" He powered the attack up fast and aimed it at the staff. Gohan ducked and the disk cut the powerful object in two, rendering it useless. As Gohan stood up again, he felt the power of Saruman dimming. He ran over to the dragonball and grabbed it. As this happened, Wormtongue entered the room. He had heard the sound of the door being bust open and ran to see if his master was in trouble. Krillan swung his arm and knocked Wormtongue over the banister where he fell many flights to his death. "Fools!" shouted Saruman in a very intimidating voice. Gohan had flown out the window, and now Krillan joined him. Having escaped Orthanc with the dragonball, they were safe for the moment; Saruman was powerless without his staff. He simply watched from the window as his only link to Mordor disappeared.   
There was only one thing left to do now: Destroy Isengard! Gohan had seen the evil of the place and knew he could not let it live. Krillan felt the same way. Letting out rapid bursts of energy, they levelled the place in a matter of minutes. The creatures below looked on helpless as they saw the ki bursts descend upon them; the last thing they would ever see. Not one remained alive when the smoke cleared. Only Orthanc remained. Magic was holding it up, and sheer power wasn't enough to take it down. They realised this, but didn't mind as Saruman was alone now and helpless. He had lost his minions, his faithful servant, the Uruk-Hai. He was alone. Gohan took one last look at Isengard then turned his back to it, never to look upon it again. Saruman watched as the two z-fighters flew into the distance and out of sight, never to return again.

Stay tuned for Chapter 5 where Goku takes a glimpse into the future.


	5. Chapter5: The mirror of Galadriel

****

Chapter 5: The mirror of Galadriel

Gandalf halted the company and turned to face them. He had a serious look on his face and had been deep in thought for some time now. The others were expecting him to stop them sooner or later; they could tell his mind was struggling with something important, and so they had waited patiently for him to resolve his temporary inner conflict. At last he spoke. "There is a shortcut", he told them. "It will take us to the Gap of Rohan sooner than our current path". The others listened carefully, awaiting the bad news. "The bad news is…" continued Gandalf, "that the shortcut is through Moria". Gimli's eyes widened. "Moria!" he shouted. "Alas, the ancient home of my ancestors, the dwarves. For there we no longer dwell, forced out by…"   
"Oh crap!" interrupted Boromir. "Gandalf, you should know better than to speak of Moria to a dwarf. Whether we take this shortcut or not, we'll be forced to listen to the history of dwarf civilisation for the rest of the journey!"   
"Fear not", said Gandalf. Gimli was still talking about Moria, although noone was listening. Gandalf took out a small bag of herbs. "This is for you Gimli", he said, giving the bag to the dwarf. "Don't smoke it all at once". Gimli's eyes widened even more. "WEED!" he screamed and took out his skins, already rolling a joint before his mouth and eyes closed again. Legolas went to join him and soon they were both toking once more. Gimli didn't mention Moria in their presence ever again.   
Later, when Legolas and Gimli were suitably stoned, Gandalf risked telling his plan to the company again. This time he asked them if they should take the shortcut or not. "None of you are being forced to go", he said. "You can chicken out if you want. I know _I_ don't want to go, but I will if Frodo decides it is best".   
"First tell us of Moria", said Boromir.   
"Moria is…" interrupted Gimli. Aragorn smacked him and he shut up.   
"Moria is a mine in the mountains", said Gandalf. "For many years dwarves dwelt in Moria, but it has since been abandoned".   
"Why did they abandon it?" asked Sam.   
"Um…I don't know", said Gandalf.   
Aragorn took Gandalf aside, out of the hearing range of the others. "Gandalf", he said. "Whenever you don't know the answer to a question, you're supposed to make something up, or produce a string of random mythological or legendary tales combined with psychological tricks that will either make the listener forget what it was they asked, or not care anymore".   
"Oh yes!" said Gandalf. "I knew there was something I forgot".   
They re-joined the Fellowship. "In the second age, the ancient fire of Caradhras forced the orcs out of hiding", said Gandalf. "The dealing of the dwarves were of no regard to the Orcs, who wanted to simply to live in peace, fighting their way to freedom. So, in conclusion, it was Sauron who drove the dwarves from Moria".   
"Aaahhhhh!" said the others, pretending to understand. Aragorn smiled at the wizard and they were all satisfied.   
"So…", said Gandalf once more. "Who will go to Moria?"   
"Not me", said Boromir. "It sounds scary".   
"I won't go either", said Legolas.   
"Nor me", said Gimli.   
Gandalf looked at Strider. "Noble Aragorn", he said. "Will you join me one more time on a journey through the mines of Moria?"   
"You must be joking!" replied Aragorn. "That place scares the hell out of me! Remember last time? I soiled myself three times just from the noises alone!"   
"Okay, okay", said Gandalf. "No need for details. I only asked".   
Despite his dislike for Moria, Gandalf still wanted to go; its dangers were far less than the danger of the open road where the enemy might find them at any time. He felt he had to convince them to go.   
"Okay. Let's let the Ring-Bearer decide", he said at last. "Frodo, do _you_ want to go to Moria?" he asked.   
"Hell no!" said Frodo. "I'd rather give the ring to Sauron!" Gandalf needed a new approach. He racked his brain to come up with an idea. Presently, a good one came to him:   
"If you all join me in Moria, I'll show you a great illusion when we get out the other side".   
Boromir looked suspiciously at the wizard. "Is it _really_ great?" he asked.   
"Best you'll ever see", replied the wizard.   
"Does it involve explosions?" asked Merry.   
"Um…yeah, if you want", replied Gandalf.   
"Is it _really_ great?" asked Gimli.   
"Boromir already asked that".   
"Oh…hehehe".   
"Okay", said Gandalf, feeling confident. "Who's with me?"   
"ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!" they all shouted in unison.   
"Then on we go to Moria!" he said, and they walked off smiling.

After leaving their friends, Goku and Piccolo looked at the dragon radar and flew off to find a dragonball. They had the shortest distance to fly, so it didn't make sense that they should take the radar, but not a lot of things in Dragonball Z make sense anyway now, do they?   
"30 km in that direction", said Goku, pointing ahead. They both flew slowly at a constant speed, realising that since they had the shortest distance to go, they should take their time. Otherwise they would be back way before the others and be bored.   
"Goku, I need to ask you something", said Piccolo.   
"Sure Piccolo. Go right ahead", replied Goku.   
"Why did you gather us all to search for the dragonballs? What exactly is it you want to wish for?"   
"Haha. I'm sorry Piccolo, I can't tell you that. You'd laugh at me".   
"Goku…I never laugh".   
"Oh yeah. Well, I guess I can tell you then. I wanted to find the dragonballs so I could summon the dragon and wish for Vegeta to like me".   
Piccolo stared blankly at him. "Goku, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard".   
"But I also thought that maybe he'd grow to like me on the journey, so if he does then I'll let him use the wish so he'll keep liking me", said Goku, not listening to his friend.   
"What about the other wish, Goku?"   
"Oh, I promised that one to Goten and Trunks".   
Piccolo thought of how to phrase his next comment carefully. "Goku, you know…I don't really think you should wish for the dragon to make Vegeta like you. I mean, he won't _really_ like you. He'll be under a spell and will no longer be the Vegeta you know. True friendship has to form on its own. It takes work, but eventually you will gain a long lasting bond with another human being that will last forever".   
"Piccolo, where do you get this stuff?"   
Piccolo blushed. "Disney movies", he replied.   
They kept quiet for most of the rest of the flight, having discovered more than they wanted to know about each other. It wasn't until they were within a kilometre of the ball that they resumed the conversation.   
"We're almost there", said Goku, looking at the radar. "Hey Piccolo", he continued, "Isn't it weird how we're team-mates now? I mean years ago you were my arch nemesis."   
"Goku, that was over 20 years ago. We've been friends since then. Why are you saying this now?"   
"Well, I dunno. It's just funny how I almost killed you. That's all".   
"Well, you _did_ kill my father".   
"No Piccolo. I am your father"   
"whhhaaaattttt?????"   
"Um…haven't you ever seen Star Wars, Piccolo?"   
"No".   
"Oh. Sorry then. I was just making a joke. I'm not actually your father".   
Piccolo rolled his eyes and flew ahead.   
At length, the radar started flashing wildly. Goku showed it to Piccolo and they began their descent over a large forest.   
"Well, this is a needle in a haystack situation, Goku. I doubt we'll ever find the ball in amongst all these trees", said Piccolo.   
"You're right", he said. "Hey, I know!"   
He placed his hands together and powered up a kamehameha. Before Piccolo could tell him how dumb an idea this was, Goku was spraying the trees with his energy. He turned in a circle, keeping a constant supply of power to the kamehameha as he cleared all the surrounding trees in a mile radius.   
"There. No trees now", he said, smiling.   
"Goku, that was a really dumb idea. What if someone saw you? There could be powerful enemies around here".   
As soon as he had said it, two elves approached them. "Oh look. Here they come now", said Piccolo sarcastically.

Neither of the two z fighters had ever seen an elf before. They were surprised by their kind appearance and fair features; Goku had heard differently from a dwarf once. He knew they were strong and agile fighters though and suddenly felt nervous. They approached him, seemingly ignoring Piccolo. Both had bows arrows on their backs and bows in hand. They did not look happy.   
"You have destroyed the sacred trees of Lothlorien", said one of the two elves to Goku.   
"I'm sorry", said Goku. "I didn't know anyone lived here".   
"This is the home of the elves", said the other dwarf.   
Piccolo spoke now. "I'm sorry to interrupt", he said sarcastically, "but hello! Are either of you going to acknowledge my existence?" This far surpassed his normal level of sarcasm.   
"I am Halibar", said the second elf. "This is Camen. We belong to the forest of Lothlorien". Piccolo, satisfied that he was no longer being ignored, dropped the subject.   
"Is there anything we can do make up for the trees?" asked Goku.   
Halibar looked at Camen and nodded. "Come with us", he said. "We will take you to see Galadriel. She'll know what to do".   
"And what if we don't want to see Galadriel?" asked Piccolo. "We're a lot stronger than you and you won't be able to take us by force".   
"Galadriel is hot", said Camen.   
"I'm game", said Goku suddenly, and he followed the elves. "Coming Piccolo?" he asked.   
Piccolo rolled his eyes and followed.

As they walked through the forest, Goku noticed that they were getting closer to the dragonball. The radar pulsed, vibrating in his pocket, faster every minute. Goku began to wonder if Galadriel had the ball. As he looked around, more elves came into view. There were large structures made of wood attached to the trees. The deeper into the forest they travelled, the more of these structures he saw. Finally, Halibar stopped them at the largest tree in the forest. The radar pulsed wildly. Piccolo noticed the huge tree-house that had been built high up in the tree. Many steps led up to it and it seemed to glow with a light unlike any he had ever seen. It was as if the sun had penetrated this tree alone simply to shine on the beauty that lived on it. Two elves stood guard at the bottom. Halibar and Camen relived them of duty, taking their place. Suddenly, the light brightened. It was moving down the stairs, though Piccolo could not see from whence it came. He suddenly realised that coming here was a good idea, but he wasn't sure why. He just felt that this was right. The light blinded him and he looked at Goku who seemed to be able to look through it without any difficulty. From the light came two forms, a male and female elf. They held hands and walked slowly towards them. "I am Celeborn", said the male elf. "This is Galadriel, my wife. Welcome to Lothlorien".

After a brief introduction and a tour of Lothlorien, Celeborn invited the z fighters to feast with them. Goku insisted that they were too busy and had a very important task to complete, but Piccolo seemed to want to stay. He had been in a trance ever since Galadriel had walked down the stairs of the tree. And so they stayed and dined with the elves.   
"I'm sorry (gulp) for blowing (buuuurp) up the (chomp) trees", said Goku in between huge mouthfuls of elven cuisine. "Wow! This stuff is delicious!" he exclaimed, seemingly forgetting his apology.   
"It's okay", said Galadriel, taking the topic back to Goku's apology. "They'll grow back in a few days and be stronger than ever before". She smiled. Piccolo's eyes were locked on her. It was a kind smile and even though she was looking at Goku, she seemed to be staring deep into the namek's soul, or so he thought. They finished eating and talked some more. Goku told Galadriel of their quest and although she claimed to know nothing about the dragonballs, Goku suspected she was hiding something. Night came upon them and Galadriel asked them to stay the night. Again they obliged.   
Piccolo was fast asleep along with the rest of the elves. They were sleeping on a wooden surface on a high branch of a tall tree. All the trees were connected by bridges and there were several paths to any one destination. Goku stayed awake and watched the shining lights of Lothlorien, wondering how they were formed. The elves were a fascinating people; so much history, so many questions gone unanswered for generations of man about the elvenfolk. As he looked around the many trees, watching the elves who were still awake, he spied Galadriel walking down a long stairway. Curious, he got up and followed her. The stairs went on for a while, and seemed to take Goku under the normal ground level, although the light was just as bright as it was above ground. Galadriel was in a small room surrounded by the roots of the trees. She stood by a large hollowed out rock. As Goku descended further, he could see it was filled with water. Galadriel noticed him. She had meant for him to follow her.   
"Come forth Goku", she said. Goku entered the room and approached her.   
"Why did you bring me here?" he asked, realising that this had been planned.   
"I have information for you", she replied. "It concerns the dragonball".   
"Oh. Do you know where it is?"   
"We shall discuss that dragonball at a more appropriate time Goku. For now, I want you to look into my mirror".   
"What will I see?" he asked.   
"The mirror shows many things", she replied. "Things that have already occurred, things that are occurring now and things that might occur".   
"Okay, this sounds good. Where is it?"   
"Right here", she said, pointing at the water.   
Goku gave her a confused look. "That's not a mirror", he said. "It's a pool of water!"   
"No it's not", argued the elf. "It's a mirror!"   
"I know a mirror when I see one", said Goku, "And that's a pool of water!"   
"No it bloody well isn't!" shouted Galadriel.   
"Yes it bloody well is!" shouted Goku.   
"Look, do you want to see into the future or don't you?"   
"Yes!"   
"Then look in the mirror".   
"It's…a…pool…of…water". "Fine, it's a pool of water then. Just look in the bloody thing".   
Goku went to the mirror and looked in. At first all he could see was water. But then suddenly, images formed. He gasped in shock.   
"Told you it was a mirror", smiled Galadriel, seeing that Goku was impressed.   
The saiyan looked up and gave her a stern look. "Mirrors show your reflection", he stated. "This is more like a television". Galadriel sighed and gave up.   
Goku was being bombarded with hundreds of images at once. Only by focussing could he make clear the relevant ones. He saw his friends flying. He saw Vegeta dancing with Tom Bombadil; He saw Goten and Trunks chasing Gollum; He saw Gohan, his son, and Krillan trapped in Isengard. They all had dragonballs. Three images came to him at once of his friends with the dragonballs. Some of these events had not yet happened though. Then the mood changed. Destruction filled the mirror. Scenes of devastating carnage and chaos across Middle Earth. Entire cities lay in ruin under a dark, red sky. Flashes of lightning accompanied loud explosions and people fled in terror. Goku struggled to keep his eyes open. He witnessed a black, evil power causing as much pain and death as possible. The black riders were under its command, though its form was unknown. Goku jumped at the next image; Krillan, his best friend, was running fast, and in an instant, he was dead. Near him lay Gohan, unconscious but still alive. A shadow filled the air and another blast was fired. The image was so powerful that Goku could feel the blast vibrate through him. His son was dead.   
Goku took a step back and tried to stop himself from falling, as he suddenly felt very faint. "No! No, it can't be!" he cried. "They're…dead! How can this be?"   
Galadriel looked at him calmly. "They are not dead", she said. "I know what it was you saw Goku. You saw some things that have already happened, and also some that may happen, and will happen, should you fail in your quest".   
"My quest?" he asked. "The dragonballs?"   
"Yes", replied Galadriel. "You must find the dragonballs as soon as possible Goku. But remember to be careful what you wish for".   
"Who…who was that evil power coming from?" he asked.   
"You don't need to ask me that Goku", replied the elf queen. "You already know. You have faced this enemy before".   
"But I don't recognise him. I can't sense his power".   
"It is an illusion Goku. You can't sense a power level that might never be. However, even if you could, you still would not recognise the power; it is fused with a far greater power".   
"What do you mean it's fused? Have two of my old enemies fused to become one person?"   
"No Goku. You will find out soon enough".   
"I have to know now! I need to be prepared for this!"   
"Find all seven dragonballs and you will be prepared. For now, all I can do to help you is give you this gift".   
She moved behind a rock to the right of her and took out a small object. It was the five star dragonball. Goku had known she was hiding this from the start, He didn't know that she would just hand it over to him though.   
"Take this and find the other dragonballs", she said. "If you don't, a new age of darkness will fall upon us all".   
"Right", said Goku. He took the dragonball and ascended the stairs. He found Piccolo and woke him up to tell him the news.

"What?" asked the namek. "Is this enemy really that powerful?"   
"I don't know Piccolo. I just have a bad feeling about it. I saw Gohan and Krillan dead in the image".   
"And you weren't dreaming?"   
"No. I was awake".   
"Well, I can understand Krillan being dead; a fly could crush him, but Gohan? That makes no sense. And what did Galadriel mean when she said you know the enemy?"   
"I don't know Piccolo. All my past enemies are dead I think".   
"We'd better be careful then Goku. If we don't know who we're up against he could take us by surprise".   
"I think we should go back to the meeting point Piccolo".   
"I agree. Let's go tell the elves we're leaving".   
They went to find Galadriel. She was on her throne will Celeborn by her side. When they heard that Goku and Piccolo were leaving they understood and bid them farewell.   
"Good luck on your quest elf friends", said Celeborn. "The fate of Middle Earth lies in your hands", he added. Galadriel smiled at Piccolo who smiled back. He was infatuated by her. Taking one last look at the beautiful elf, he turned with Goku and they left. The elves gathered and watched their heroes as they went off to battle and Lothlorien was illuminated with their energy. It was the most beautiful sight the two z fighters would ever see and leaving the elven haven wasn't easy, but it had to be done. As the elves fell out of sight, they both wondered if they would ever return to this paradise. They wouldn't.

The Z-Fighters agreed to split into teams and find one dragonball each. Having completed their tasks, they must rendezvous at the meeting point in the small town where they found the first dragonball. They will search for the next two balls as planned, but who is this dark power Goku has seen in the mirror and how does he know it? Is it Friesa? Cell? Buu? Find out in Chapter 6.


	6. Chapter6: The meeting in Moria

****

Chapter 6: The meeting in Moria

It had been almost a day since the Parting of the Fellowship of the balls and the deserted town, from where they had taken leave of each other, was as quiet as ever. The only sound that could be heard was the slamming of the tiny doors as the wind blew them open and then gain, seeming to grow impatient at the time the z-fighters were taking to complete their missions. The first team to arrive back was that of Goten and Trunks. They shot into the town faster than a speeding bullet and landed with grace and precision in the precise spot they had set off from earlier that day. They would have arrived sooner, but had gone to play with the trolls after finding the dragonball. It was fun to toy with inferior beings; especially as the trolls thought they had the height advantage. Eventually, they had passed out from exhaustion and frustration. This signalled that playtime was over and the two saiyans journeyed back. Of course they lost their way several times, but this only added an hour to their journey. Finally they were back at the meeting point and ironically, the first ones there. Trunks took the dragonball from his pocket and looked at it. "Where d'ya suppose the grown ups are?" he asked Goten.   
"I don't know Trunks. Maybe they're still out looking for the dragonballs", replied his friend.   
"Yeah, I guess so. Wanna play with the dragonball?"   
"Okay".   
They started throwing the ball back and forth to each other, catching it every time then moving further back and throwing it harder for a greater challenge.   
"This is fun!" shouted Goten.   
The game lasted through the night, which was remarkable considering their attention spans. Neither of them wondered where the grown-ups were again.

The next day, Goku and Piccolo arrived. They landed in the village and looked for the other members of the fellowship. Presently, Goten and Trunks walked slowly out from behind one of the small houses and approached them.   
"Hey guys", said Goku. "How'd you get on? Did you find a dragonball?"   
Goten had his head hung in shame. "You tell him Trunks", he said quietly to his friend.   
"No, you tell him". Said Trunks. "He's your dad".   
"Tell me what?" asked Goku.   
Goten and Trunks jumped. They had not realised Goku had been listening.   
"Um…err…." Muttered Goten. He reached into his pocket and took out a piece of a dragonball. Then he took another piece out, and then another. "We're sorry!" cried the two saiyans and burst into tears.   
"What did you two do?" asked Piccolo sternly.   
"We were playing with the dragonball then Trunks threw it too hard and I missed it and it flew into a wall and it smashed and I'm sorry daddy!" he took a breath and continued crying.   
"It's all Goten's fault", said Trunks, arms crossed and an accusing look on his face.   
Goku and Piccolo looked at each other, slightly confused. Finally Goku laughed.   
"Haha. It's okay, really. I'll take the dragonball to Dende and he'll fix it for us", he said.   
Goten stopped crying. "You mean dragonballs can be fixed?" he asked.   
"Of course. I'll go now. Cheer up you two. I won't be long".   
Goku put his fingers to his head and prepared himself for instant translocation.   
"Wait!" shouted Goten and Trunks in unison. "Don't leave us with Pico…".   
It was too late. He had gone. They looked at Piccolo and grinned. He was a scary man; especially when he was angry. Piccolo stared at them through narrow eyes.

Goku arrived at Dende's place. Dende looked round and noticed him. "Hey Goku", said the young namek. "What brings you here?"   
"I have a dragonball for you to fix Dende. It kind of…um…broke", he scratched his head.   
"Oh. That shouldn't be possible, but I guess when you're a saiyan…"   
He took the ball and left the sentence unfinished.   
"Yes, I can fix this Goku".   
"Oh good!"   
"It might take some time. Why don't you go through to Mr Popo? He's taking care of Yamcha and Videl at the moment".   
"Yamcha and Videl? What are they doing here?"   
"I think you should ask _them_ that Goku. I have to get to work on this dragonball right away. If I leave it too long, it will be broken forever".   
"Okay Dende. Thanks", said Goku, and went to find the others.   
Yamcha and Videl were eating at a large table with Mr Popo who seemed to be watching them eat and talk. They all saw Goku and looked surprised.   
"Hey guys", said Goku. He spotted the food and rushed to the table. Within in instant, he had eaten half the platter.   
"Goku, what are you doing here?" asked Yamcha.   
"Trunks and Goten (chomp)…broke (crunch) a dragonball. I came (burp)…here to (yum) get it fixed".   
Videl gave a look of disgust at Goku's table manners.   
"What are (chomp) you doing here?"   
"Oh, Videl got hit by a poisoned arrow. She's okay now though; Dende healed her."   
"Oh. That's nice", he said finishing off the remains of the food. "How are Gohan and Krillan doing?"   
"We don't know", replied Yamcha. "We left them to find the dragonball after Videl was shot. We were attacked by some weird looking creatures, but I think they're okay".   
Videl suddenly looked worried at the mention of Gohan. 'I hope he's okay', she thought to herself.   
"Shall I bring you more food Goku?" asked Mr Popo in a soft voice.   
"Sure Mr Popo. Looks like I might be here a while", replied the saiyan with a black hole for a stomach. Mr Popo turned and rolled his eyes as he went to fetch more food for Goku.

"Can we see your dragonball Piccolo?" asked Goten.   
"Goku has it", replied the namek. "And even if I had it, I wouldn't trust you with it after what you did to yours".   
"Where did you find yours?" asked Trunks, who had now joined them.   
"In an elven forest called Lothlorien".   
"What was it like?" asked Goten.   
'It was perfect', thought Piccolo, but out loud he remained silent.   
"Man, I wish we could have seen the elves", interrupted Trunks. "We got stuck with a stupid guy called Gollum".   
Goten's eyes narrowed. "Shut up Trunks!" he shouted. "Gollum was great!"   
"Was not!"   
"Was too!"   
'Goku, get back soon' thought Piccolo.   
It was then that a blast of light came from the sky, followed closely by another. Piccolo stood on guard, but once he sensed the power, he was relieved; it was Gohan and Krillan. Trunks and Goten stopped arguing and looked up. Gohan landed first and smiled at the sight of his teammates. "Hey", he said. Krillan landed next.   
"Did you get it?" asked Piccolo.   
"Sure did", said Krillan excitedly. He reached into his pocket and took out a dragonball. Piccolo suddenly felt a sense of doom at the sight as he remembered Goku describing this exact image from his experience with the mirror in Lothlorien. He kept quiet though and congratulated the two on a job well done. Goten and Trunks immediately ran over to Krillan. "Lemme see!!" they both shouted, jumping up at him.   
"Sure", said Krillan, handing them the ball. Piccolo started paying attention to what was going on and sprang into action. He dived in and grabbed the ball before either of the two saiyans could get their destructive hands on it. Krillan looked confused.   
"Gee Goten, you make one mistake and you're paying for it the rest of your life", said Trunks.   
As the boys played, the grown-ups told their stories. They were tired and hungry, but listening to each other's tales took their minds off their suffering. Finally, they went to sleep. All except Piccolo that is, who decided to stand guard should another black rider show up. He had been watching for two hours before he heard a sound. He turned to see Goku and Yamcha standing beside him.   
"Hey Piccolo", said Goku. "Dende fixed the dragonball". He noticed Krillan and Gohan sleeping and thought of the mirror's prophecy. He had been too relaxed for the last few hours and remembered that there was great danger ahead of them. He woke Gohan up and they exchanged stories. Goku told his son that Videl was okay and explained that, although Yamcha had rejoined them, it was better if Videl stayed with Dende for the time being. Goten and Trunks awoke and were relieved to find the dragonball they had broken was now fixed. Piccolo still wouldn't let them near it though. They gathered all four dragonballs and Goku put them safely in his pocket. "Just have to wait for Vegeta to get back", he said. "Shouldn't take too long".

Videl was talking to Dende. She knew nothing about Nameks, and since she had been told to stay here, she figured she might as well learn something. There was nothing else to do anyway. Mr Popo was meditating in the back. Suddenly, Goku materialised and went over to Dende. "Is Mr Popo around?" he asked.   
"Yes Goku, right over there", replied the namek, pointing to where Mr Popo was meditating. Goku approached him. "Hey Mr Popo!" shouted Goku. Popo snapped out of his meditation, unpleased at the interruption and stood to face the saiyan. "I was about to reach Nirvana Goku", he said as angrily as was possible for him.   
"That can wait", said Goku. "We need more food".   
"More?" asked Popo, shocked. "This is the fourth time you've been back for food Goku. Why do you need so much?"   
"Well, we're getting hungry waiting for Vegeta to get back. It's been three days now and all we can do is wait".   
"Why don't you instant translocate over to him and find if he's okay?"   
"Cause that would be too smart"   
"Well, what if I told you it was the stupid thing to do Goku?"   
"Then I'd have no choice but to do it"   
"Well…. It's a stupid thing to do".   
"Okay Mr Popo. I'm going to find Vegeta. See ya!"   
He disappeared and Mr Popo heaved a sigh of relief.

Vegeta was sitting on a rock quietly. A large vein bulged on his forehead and his teeth were clenched tight. In his fist, he squeezed an extremely dense rock before crushing it into a thousand pieces. 'When will this infernal guilt leave me?' he wondered. Tom danced in the background. Vegeta had grown so sick of him; he couldn't look at the short, jolly man without wanting to kill him. "Ho now Vegeta!" he shouted over to the angry Saiyan. "Won't you come and be joining old Tom for a merry dance?" Vegeta didn't dignify the question with an answer. He simply put up with the antics of Bombadil and suffered in silence. At least he had the dragonball now. It was safe. All he had to do was wait until the guilt passed. He felt as if Tom had some hold over him, as if by magic Tom was feeding him these feelings so that he'd stay a bit longer. There was nothing that could be done about it though. This was one battle Vegeta could not win.   
Goku emerged from the bushes close to the rock Vegeta was on and for once Vegeta was glad to see him. "Kakorat, you have to get me out of here", he said, looking round to make sure Tom wasn't watching. "Quick. If Tom sees you, he'll put you under his spell and neither of us will ever be able to leave this place!" Goku looked round and eventually spotted Tom dancing in the willow. 'Bim bom Bombadil!" he sang to himself.   
"He doesn't look so bad", said Goku.   
"Kakorat, TRUST ME!" shouted Vegeta. It was a mistake. Tom had seen them. "Hello my merry friends!" he said as he saw Goku had joined Vegeta. He started to bounce his way over to the Saiyans.   
"Kakorat, NOW!" screamed Vegeta.   
Goku suddenly had an idea. "Will you be my friend if I help you?" he asked.   
"Yes, yes, anything!" replied Vegeta. Sounding very nervous.   
"…Promise?"   
Tom was nearing them.   
"Yes, I promise. Take us out of here!"   
Goku took Vegeta's hand and placed his fingers to his forehead. Tom made one final leap over to them, but fell to the ground as Goku and Vegeta disappeared from his sight for good.

They re-materialised at the meeting point. "What was all that about?" asked Goku.   
"Don't ask Kakorat. Just…don't…ask".   
"Hey Vegeta, what took you so long?" asked Krillan.   
Vegeta scowled.   
"Touchy subject", interrupted Goku before the violence could begin. "The important thing is the dragonball. Did you get it Vegeta?"   
Vegeta took out the round object and showed it to Goku. "I'm holding onto this one", he said. "I went through hell to get this".   
Goku wasn't up for arguing with him and let him keep the dragonball. It was time to make some decisions now. Piccolo intervened and took control. "We're all back together now", he said, looking t each of them in turn. "Now we are eight", he continued. "But we will keep to the plan. We agreed before setting off that we would meet here and find the remaining two dragonballs together and that's what we'll do". The others listened carefully. "According to the radar, the next dragonball is over to the east, near Lothlorien. From what I remember of the area, it looks like it's in a large mountain range. We'll set out tomorrow after we've had time to sleep and should have found it by the end of that day". Everyone nodded and agreed. Vegeta stroked his dragonball and smiled, then joined the others as they went to eat.

The Fellowship of the Ring had reached Moria. All were terrified, but didn't let on. It had been a long journey and they were tired and hungry, but although the thought of Moria chilled their bones, each of them knew it would take several days off their journey.   
"Gandalf, when are you going to show us that amazing trick?" asked Pippin.   
"When we're out of Moria", replied the wizard. All were disappointed. They found the hidden entrance and approached the door.   
"I don't like the look of that pool", said Frodo.   
Pippin threw a rock in.   
"Fool of a Took!" shouted Gandalf. "Are you trying to get us all killed?"   
Pippin stared blankly. Frodo watched the pool and Aragorn readied himself to draw Anduril should the need arise. The door to Moria was large and could not be opened by physical means from the outside. The inscription on the top read 'Speak friend and enter' in a dwarven language.   
"Well, that's easy", said Pippin. "You just say the dwarven word for friend and it'll open".   
They all laughed. "Pippin, do you really think it would be that easy?" asked Boromir. Noone took the young hobbit seriously.   
"No", interrupted Gandalf, shaking off the last of his laugh. "It'll be something far more complicated. I'll try every dwarven word I know, then if that doesn't work…we'll try Pippin's idea!" he burst into a fit of laughter, joined by all except Pippin who sat by the pool, upset. Frodo went to comfort his friend, holding in his laughter as best he could. They talked of the Shire and Bilbo and beer while Gandalf consulted his Oxford English to Dwarfish dictionary. They heard him chant many incomprehensible words in the background.   
"No, you raise your voice at the end!" said Gimli.   
"It doesn't say that here", said Gandalf.   
"Doesn't it? Let me see…. there's the problem. This is the second edition. You need the third edition!"   
"No you don't Gimli. This door was created during the writing of the second edition".   
"You old cheapskate Gandalf. Why can't you just buy a third edition?"   
Gandalf ignored the dwarf and continued listing dwarven words at random. The hobbits had now gathered together and were talking amongst themselves. Aragorn and Boromir looked on while Gandalf wasted his time, and Legolas and Gimli went off to search the area.   
An hour passed and Gandalf gathered the troop. "Okay", he said, sounding disappointed. "It didn't work. I'm going to try Pippin's idea now".   
"Surely you can't be serious!" said Boromir.   
"It might work", said Frodo.   
Gandalf faced the door and looked up the dwarfish word for friend. 'Mellon' he said in a soft voice. The door creaked and then opened slowly. Their mouths dropped wide open. Pippin had been right!   
"Where's my apology?" asked Pippin smugly.   
"Shut up", said Gandalf.   
A dark force lay dormant at the bottom of the pool as they entered the mine. As the door closed behind them, it knew it had missed its chance.

The Fellowship of the balls had slept well and were now ready to journey to the next dragonball Even Vegeta seemed in high spirits today. Goku assumed it was because he had escaped Tom Bombadil, though he wasn't sure why Tom scared him so, but that was only part of the reason. After a brief check of the radar, Piccolo led the way and they followed eagerly. Four dragonballs were in Goku's pocket; being watched by Goten and Trunks at all times. One was in Vegeta's pocket. One lay on the road ahead and the other it was too early to think about. They flew for an hour before reaching Lothlorien. It would have been a shorter journey, but they had to fly at a speed the kids were able to keep up with. Piccolo looked down and pictured Galadriel. He was tempted to return, but remembered how the elves had put their faith in him and Goku. And so he flew on. "What's that bright light?" asked Trunks. Noone answered, but Piccolo felt worse at being reminded of the beautiful forest. Goku suddenly remembered the prophecy he had seen in the mirror. He was sure he could hear Galadriel's voice, but figured it was just his imagination.   
"There's the mountains over there", said Piccolo, and flew towards them. When they arrived, the radar showed that the ball was close. They combed the area but could find no sign of it. Piccolo even flew to the exact spot the radar claimed the ball to be in, but found nothing. This confused them greatly. It was Trunks who finally came up with a solution.   
"Maybe the dragonball's inside the mountain", he told them. "That's what happened when me and Goten tried to find our dragonball in another mountain". The z-fighters were intrigued. "You mean like…a mine?" asked Krillan. Piccolo was interested now. "How would we get into this mine?" he asked. Yamcha provided a solution for this problem: "I found a hollow in the side of the mountain", he said. "It looked like an entrance to something".   
"Where is it?" asked Piccolo.   
Yamcha ran down to the hollow and showed it to Piccolo. They entered without caution and found the door that led to Moria. Krillan was the first to attempt to open it. He put his hands between the two halves of the door and tried to force them open. It had no effect. "There's something written above the doors", he said, noticing the dwarven text. "It looks foreign. Piccolo, is it Namekian?" Piccolo didn't dignify the stupidity of the question with a response. Vegeta sighed and powered up a large blast. "Stand back!" he said sternly, and fired the blast at the door, destroying it. Nobody was pleased at his methods, but he never gave enough warning for them to stop him. They eyed him angrily as they walked into the mine. Vegeta's actions had not, however, gone without consequence. The creature from the bottom of the pool had been woken from the blast and was out for revenge. It floated to the top of the pool as Gohan noticed large ripples appear on the surface. He leaned closer to find their source and was splashed as a giant tentacle suddenly jumped out of the pool and grabbed him. Krillan rushed to his friend's aid but was taken by another slimy tentacle. Both were being crushed and dragged under the water. Goku put his hands together and powered up his ki. "Kamehameha!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed and released a huge rush of energy towards the beast. Startled, it let go of the two z-fighters and they flew to safety. Piccolo joined Goku. "Masenka-ho!" he shouted, letting out a spiralling blast of his own. The creature dived out of the pool for a brief second before exploding into a million pieces. Goku and Piccolo stopped for breath and then joined the others on Moria.

Gandalf and co had been in Moria for a day when they were awoken by a sudden loud noise. Aragorn sprang to his feet and drew Anduril. Legolas also jumped into action and readied his bow. "What was that?" asked Aragorn. The hobbits awoke all at once. "It sounded like an explosion", said Sam. Boromir, who had been standing guard, ran back into the room they had chosen to sleep in. "I saw a large blast by the entrance to the mines", he told them. "There's a very bright light. It looks like fire. The entire mine is illuminated!" Gandalf gathered his belongings. "We must move now", he said, sounding very urgent. "It could be orcs or worse, the Enemy. We have to put some distance between us and them". They were out the room within a minute and climbing more stairs.   
Legolas stayed at the back since he was the only one with a long range weapon. Aragorn led the way in case any Orcs should be ahead of them. He gripped Anduril tightly in his hands. They walked fast, worrying, not knowing who was following them. The stairs became very narrow and rose more steeply. Rocks crumbled beneath them and they felt as if the structure of the mine might collapse at any moment. Finally Gandalf spotted a door near the top of the stairs. He pointed it our to Aragorn who led the company through it and into a large room. Gandalf waited till they were all safely through the doors, then barricaded them shut. They all heaved a sigh of relief, feeling safe once more. Then Legolas spotted Gimli. He was kneeling by a tomb in the centre of the room, weeping. He went over to comfort his friend. "So it's true", cried Gimli. "My ancestor is dead!"   
Aragorn picked up a book lying beside the tomb and consulted Gandalf. "It's a dwarven text", he told the wizard. "Do you have your dictionary still?"   
Gandalf reached into his pocket and took out said object. Aragorn was amazed at the speed Gandalf could translate at. Within minutes he had read several pages in english. "It's all about how the dwarves were attacked by the Orcs", he told Strider. "They were driven out years ago by an attack in this very room".   
Everyone who heard him looked round and tried to find the quickest exit should the need to leave arise. Everyone, that was, except Pippin. The young Hobbit was studying a rock he had just found. It was the strangest rock he had ever seen; a perfect sphere, orange, shiny and it had stars in it. He took it over to a nearby well and, wondering how deep the well was, dropped it down. They all looked round in shock.   
"Fool of a Took!" shouted Gandalf. "Are you trying to let whoever's out there know we're here?"   
Pippin started whimpering. Legolas put his ear to the door. "They're coming!" he warned them. The floor vibrated violently and the sound of marching echoed throughout the walls.   
Aragorn drew Anduril again. Gandalf drew his blade and Frodo drew Sting followed by the rest of the Hobbits with their crappy blades. Gimli drew his axe, Boromir drew a large sword and Legolas stood close to the door with his bow and arrow, ready to fire at the first sign of trouble. The marching was louder now. Louder with every second. It covered the heavy breathing of the Fellowship until finally the door creaked and they all stood back. They gathered in the centre of the room and waited. It was about all they could do. It was too late for escape. The blade holding the door shut snapped in two. Arrows shot into the room. Finally it shattered and dozens of Orcs hurried in. Legolas shot as many as he could before they could reach his companions. Aragorn charged at them and sliced the heads off three while Boromir protected the hobbits. Gandalf was holding his own and had killed several Orcs. Gimli had joined Aragorn and together, they had slain ten between them now. More rushed in. The fellowship was heavily outnumbered. A group of Orcs came at Boromir and he was forced to defend himself, leaving the hobbits alone and scared. The Orcs went for them and lunged at Merry. He jumped back and closed his eyes, slicing his blade against the orcs hand in a lucky shot. The hand fell off and the Orc ran screaming. Sam and Pippin had set to work on another orc and killed it easily. Frodo drew Sting and noticed it was glowing brightly, as it did when Orcs were around. The light distracted him for a moment and an orc rammed its blade into his shoulder. Frodo screamed and fell. Sam looked round and saw his master on the ground. He jumped the Orc and decapitated it, avenging Frodo's injury. Merry and Pippin had a minute to get their strength back; the Orcs had underestimated their abilities and left them alone. They watched the men join forces to attack the creatures, and Gandalf seemed to be coping still. Legolas was finding any arrows he could as he was running low on them, and Gimli drove his axe into yet another Orc. Apart from Frodo, they had sustained no injuries. Luck was on their side today.

Upon entering the mine, the first thing the z-fighters noticed was how dark it was. It was a foreign structure and they had no idea what lay ahead.   
"One of us should go super saiyan", suggested Goku.   
Immediately, Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, Goten and Trunks all turned into Super Saiyans. Goku sighed.   
"I didn't mean all of us!" he said. The mine was fully illuminated now. They could see a sequence of stairs and bridges climbing many levels. Goku took out his radar and found which way they should go. He led them up the set of stairs ahead of them and they climbed for a while. Finally Gohan had an idea: "Shouldn't we just…fly?" he asked his dad.   
Goku scratched his head. "I guess", he replied. "You wanna?"   
"If you do".   
There was no time to resolve the issue though; Orcs jumped out from the walls in all directions and flocked together, marching up the stairs. They seemed to be ignoring the z-fighters who watched as the creatures gathered around a large door several levels above them and began hammering it down. Piccolo flew towards them. He landed beside a small troop as the front line of the army destroyed the door. A large Orc standing next to Piccolo fired an arrow at him. It broke upon impact against the Nameks skin. Piccolo picked him up and threw him to the bottom of the mine. The other Orcs now began attacking Piccolo together. Goku and Gohan flew to help their friend. Pretty soon a small battle had begun. More orcs joined it and some others ran up the stairs and into the room of the door that had been battered down minutes before. Krillan and Yamcha had now joined the fight and upon the narrow stairs, Orcs were being killed by the dozen. The z-fighters hovered beside the stairs as they were too narrow to stand on. Many Orcs fell to their death. Vegeta joined them finally and they had no problem with annihilating their enemy. Goten and Trunks had come across a small number of Orcs and also defeated them without passing a breath.   
"Come on!" commanded Piccolo once they had cleared the stairs. "Let's go see what's going on in that room".   
They flew in one at a time and saw a bloody battle occurring. The Orcs were fighting with two men, four hobbits, a dwarf, an elf and a wizard. The z-fighters wasted no time in getting started and pushed the Fellowship of the Ring out the way as they slaughtered the remaining Orcs. Finally there was silence again; not a single Orc remained.

The two Fellowships faced each other. The smell of orc guts polluted the air. Gandalf took a step forward, as did Piccolo. The hobbits were tending to Frodo who was unconscious. They pulled the blade out and did their best to stop the bleeding. Gandalf finally worked up the courage to talk. "Are you a friend or a foe?" he asked.   
"I think our actions have already answered that question, don't you?" said Piccolo.   
Boromir wondered where this man was from. He had never seen anyone with a green complexion before. "Are you…are you from the Gray Havens?" he asked.   
"No", replied Piccolo. "I'm from Namek".   
"What brought you here?" asked Gandalf.   
"We're on a mission. We're looking to find a dragonball", replied Piccolo.   
"And what is a dragonball?"   
"A round, orange object".   
Pippin ran over to them. "I've seen one!" he said excitedly.   
Piccolo looked down at the hobbit. "You have?" he asked.   
"Yes, I dropped it…" he stopped as he remembered how foolish he had been. "I dropped it down the well", he continued, quietly.   
Goku checked the radar. "It hasn't gone far", he said. "Krillan, you're the smallest. Can you go down the well and find it?"   
"Sure, pick on the little guy!" said Krillan, cross, and went over to the well. He hovered above it, then flew down. The Fellowship of the Ring gasped. "You're powerful wizards, aren't you?" asked Gimli.   
"No, we're not wizards", said Gohan. "We're mostly Saiyans".   
"Are you of an order?" asked Gandalf.   
"Um…no", replied Gohan, not understanding the question.   
Merry called over to them. "Gandalf! Frodo's dying!" he said. Gandalf approached Frodo and looked at the wound. "Not again", he said. "How many times must he be stabbed?"   
He cleaned the wound and called Aragorn over. They studied the wound and realised that nothing could be done about it here. They would have to reach Lothlorien before Frodo could be healed. "It's no use", said Gandalf. "He's as good as dead".   
Goku joined them. "I know a great healer", he said. "I can take him to see him if you'd like".   
Boromir stepped in. "How do we know we can trust you?" he asked.   
"We have no choice Boromir", said Gandalf. "He will die in our care, so we must trust this Saiyan".   
He stood up and faced Goku. "How can you take him there in time?" he asked.   
"Don't you worry about that", smiled Goku. Gandalf bent down and placed his hand against the hobbit. He slipped the ring off him and handed it to Sam, unnoticed; if Frodo was leaving them for the time being, he wanted to make sure that the ring was safe. Goku picked up Frodo and carried him over his shoulder. "He'll be fine", he said, and disappeared. Everyone gasped, bar Gandalf who had figured out the abilities of the strangers by now.   
Piccolo broke the short silence. "You still haven't told us why you're here".   
Gandalf turned around. "We're on a mission too", he said. "The fate of the world lies in our hands."   
"That's funny", said the Namek, looking more suspicious than amazed. "We were told the fate of the world lies in _our_ hands".   
"Who told you that?" asked Gandalf.   
Piccolo didn't take his eyes off the wizard for a second. "An elf named Galadriel", he said. Finally Gandalf was surprised. "You mean to say you've travelled to Lothlorien?"   
"Yes", replied Piccolo. "And I'm sorry I had to leave".   
Before Gandalf could ask another question, Krillan ran into the room. "I found it!" he shouted, holding up a dragonball. He looked around. "Where's Goku?" he asked.   
"Goku went to help out our new friends, Krillan", said the Namek. "You'd better give the dragonball to me".   
"Okay", said Krillan, disappointed as noone had even thanked him for finding the object. He handed the dragonball to Piccolo who put it in his back pocket. Vegeta watched carefully.   
"What do the dragonballs do?" asked Merry.   
Before Piccolo could answer, he spotted Goten bothering Sam. The hobbit was trying to dodge the young Saiyan, but failing.   
"What's that?" asked Goten. "C'mon, lemme see!" He was trying to get his hands on the ring around Sam's neck. Sam took a step back, but Goten snapped the string attached to the ring and held the object in his hand.   
"No!" shouted Gandalf, panicking. "You must give it back to Sam!"   
Goten was too interested in his new toy. He placed it on his finger and disappeared.   
"Where's he gone?" asked Piccolo, sounding alarmed. Gandalf was too worried to answer.   
"Wow! This is weird. Trunks, you gotta try this!" Goten took the ring off and re-appeared. Piccolo ran over to him and grabbed the ring, giving it back to Sam. "What happened?" asked Piccolo.   
Gandalf risked explaining the situation. "The ring is too powerful for any man to handle", he told them. "We are on a mission to destroy it". Vegeta's ears pricked at the sound of the word 'powerful'.   
"In the wrong hands, this ring could destroy the world. I urge you to help us".   
"Ha!" interrupted Vegeta. "There is noone in the universe too powerful for me to defeat!"   
"You don't know what you're up against", said Aragorn, calmly.   
"Do you expect me to believe this ring can grant eternal power to its bearer?" asked Vegeta.   
"Not eternal, but greater power than exists in the rest of the world combined", replied Gandalf.   
"We'll help you any way we can", said Piccolo suddenly, and the hobbits smiled. "We'll just wait for Goku to come back, then decide what to do".   
Gandalf nodded. "That would be wise".   
Suddenly Sam screamed. They all looked round to see him on the ground, gasping for air. Vegeta stood next to him, bearing the ring. "Finally I shall be immortal!" he declared.. He let out an evil laugh and placed the ring on his index finger. As the others watched in horror, a hole burst through the very top of Moria and Vegeta was gone.   
'The Mirror's prophecy!' thought Piccolo to himself. 'If it's true, this will be the end of us all!'   
They stood frozen, not knowing what to do. The situation seemed helpless. All hope was lost. As Vegeta flew undetected in the darkening sky, only the two fellowships knew that this was the beginning of the end.

Stay tuned for Chapter seven where the two Fellowships join forces to defeat their new enemy and insure that Galadriel's prophecy does not come true.


	7. Chapter7: A course of action

****

Chapter 7: A course of action

Goku materialised on Dende's land and carried Frodo over to the Namek.   
"Dende. This little guy needs healing fast", he said.   
Dende scowled at Goku. "Can't you deal with any problems by yourself Goku? This is the third time I've been asked to heal someone or repair something in the last two days!"   
Goku looked confused. "Gee, I'm sorry Dende. I just thought that's what you did. You're a healer. We're all out doing our part to save the world. I just thought you might be eager to help".   
Dende now looked guilty. "Sorry Goku", he said. "I guess I'm just a little mad cause I never get to leave this place or do anything interesting".   
"I understand Dende". He didn't really, but time was of the essence and Goku couldn't afford to play psychiatrist at the moment. He put Frodo down and Dende eyed the wound. Placing his hands over the hobbit, he released his energy and closed the wound as the poison disintegrated.   
"He should be fine in an hour or so", said Dende.   
"Thanks Dende", replied Goku. "Is Mr.Popo about? I'm starving".   
"Um…I don't think it would be a good idea to ask Popo for food right now Goku".   
"Oh, okay. I'll go see how Videl is doing then. I can't leave till this little guy is feeling better".   
"Who is he anyway?"   
"I dunno. We found these guys who were fighting some monsters. We helped them out. I think they're on a mission too".   
Something twigged in Dende's mind. "Did they have a ring with them Goku?" he asked.   
"Maybe. I didn't see". He saw Dende was now deep in thought and took the opportunity to go find Videl.   
'This isn't good', thought Dende. 'I had no idea the Ring had been found after all this time'.

Meanwhile In Moria, the remaining members of the two fellowships thought about what to do. The Fellowship of the balls were scared because they knew of Vegeta's terrible power. The Fellowship of the rings were scared because they knew of the Ring's terrible power. Piccolo and Gandalf had taken command of the team to decide a course of action.   
"How powerful can the Ring make him?" asked Piccolo.   
"Eternally powerful. It was forged from the power of Sauron; one more powerfu than I. I fear we shall all be destroyed if this Vegeta is truly as powerful as you say he is. If what you have told us is true, he is greater than the Dark Lord himself".   
"Then our only hope is Goku. He's the only person stronger than Vegeta".   
Sam moped in the corner. "This is all my fault", he said to himself, unaware that the others were listening. Merry and Pippin went to comfort him.   
"Where is Goku now?" asked Boromir.   
"He's the one that took your friend to be healed".   
"And he's really more powerful than Vegeta?" asked Legolas.   
"I hope so. Their powers kinda shift. However, Goku's capable of turning into what we call a Super Saiyan 3. Vegeta is only capable of turning Super Saiyan 2. It may be our only advantage; Level 3 is a lot more powerful than Level 2. Maybe even more powerful than Vegeta and the Ring combined."   
Gandalf came to a decision at that moment. "Then we shall wait for Goku to return with Frodo", he said. "I think it best if you and I travel with him. He shall face Vegeta and try to defeat him."   
Piccolo wasn't completely happy with this plan. "There's another way", he told the wizard. "The Dragonballs. We can use them to wish for the Ring to be destroyed".   
The company gasped. "Can …can you do that?" asked Gimli. Sam looked up for the first time since he lost the Ring.   
"I think so. Shenron can't destroy people, but I'm sure he can destroy objects".   
"But the Ring can only be destroyed on Mount Doom, the site of its creation", interrupted Gandalf.   
Piccolo remained confident. "Then Shenron will draw the Ring there", he said.   
"How many dragonballs do you need to summon the dragon?" asked Aragorn.   
"Seven", said Gohan, stepping in. "We have five just now. Vegeta has one and one more remains to be found".   
"So Vegeta will still have to be confronted", said Gandalf, disappointed. "Still, there is hope in this plan", he continued. "Goku can distract Vegeta while we find his dragonball. The rest of the company can search for the seventh ball".   
"Agreed", said Piccolo, and they all nodded. A plan was forming, but none of them were confident; a new fear swept across them all. It was the strange light that could be seen from the door. The sound of fire was becoming louder by the second, mixed with a terrifying thundering noise that shook the room. The Z-Fighters sensed a huge power approaching. Their eyes widened in amazement at the size of it. The Fellowship of the Ring did not have the ability to sense power levels, but it was Gandalf alone who knew the source.   
"I feared this might happen", he told them. "A great and powerful Balrog lives in these mines".   
"How powerful?" asked Piccolo anxiously.   
"As powerful as I", replied the wizard.   
"We gotta get out of here guys!" shouted Krillan, sounding very nervous.   
"No", said Gandalf. "If we do, he will follow us until he finds us and destroys us all!"   
Gohan and Piccolo made eye contact and nodded to each other. "I'll fight him", said the Saiyan. Trunks and Goten ran to him and begged to be allowed to fight the Balrog too. "I wanna see him!" they screamed, as Piccolo grew impatient. "We don't have time for this!" he yelled. "You two need to help us escape!"   
Acting mature for once, Trunks grabbed hold of Merry and Pippin while Goten took Sam on his back. Piccolo grabbed Gandalf by the arm and Krillan took both Gimli and Legolas. Boromir held onto Yamcha who took Aragorn by his other hand. Taking one last look at Gohan, who stood in his fighting stance, looking confident as ever, the Z-fighters took to the sky, bringing their new allies with them. They flew through the hole Vegeta had made and headed for Dende's place.

Gohan's eyes were glued to the door. He didn't blink and spent his remaining moments of preparation controlling his breathing and putting himself in the right mental state. He could hear the Balrog now; it's terrible roar echoed throughout the mine and Gohan knew it was homing in on him. The fire grew brighter and the thunderous boom of the Balrog's steps grew louder as he approached the small room. It was then that Gohan realised how tiny the battlefield was. Spotting a back exit, he ran through another door and into a large hall. 'Much better', he thought as fire spread the room he had just left. His timing had been perfect, and through the door to the hall, he could make out a large shape in the fire. An enormous whip cracked into the hall, landing mere feet from where Gohan was standing. He jumped back. The Balrog put one giant foot through the door and cratered the wall as he stepped through. Letting out a mighty roar, he spread his wings and seemed to burst into flames. The hall shook and Gohan felt pieces of rock collapse from under him. The floor was thin and this was a dangerous place to fight. Not only would he have to deal with the Balrog, but he would have to keep an eye on the structure of the room also. The creature leaped over to him and for the first time, he could see its full size; he was at least five times Gohan's height and eight times his width. The room was at a very high temperature now and it seemed as if the Balrog definitely had the homefield advantage with regards to all aspects of the environment. Gohan sweated like a pig. The battle was on.   
The Balrog cracked his whip again as Gohan jumped back, dodging the weapon. Another crack followed. He was fast by Gohan's standards even. The young Saiyan only just managed to avoid the sting of the whip and after landing on one foot, sprang into the air. He swung his foot into his opponent's head and quickly followed it with a spinning kick to the neck. The Balrog staggered back and roared loudly. Gohan didn't give it time to recover; he sprinted forward into the creature and rammed his fists into its midsection. The flames of the Balrog exploded once more and re-lit the room. Gohan somersaulted back and landed firmly on his feet. He powered up a masenka-ho and started to fire it. It was too late for the attack though; the Balrog had found his strength and threw the whip at Gohan. This time it hit and the Saiyan went flying into the back wall. A loud thud was heard as he made contact with the hard rock, and part of the wall collapsed upon him. All he could see was a giant flame approaching him. 'Is this the end?' he thought to himself. There was no energy left in his body and for the first time since the Cell Games, he felt completely drained. The whip was being readied for another strike as the Balrog neared him. Then he remembered there was one last hope; he still had two sensu beans. No sooner had he thought of the beans than he had swallowed one and zanzookened behind the Balrog. The creature was confused at the disappearance of his prey and looked around, but Gohan was hidden in its shadow. He jumped up and drove his fist hard into its back. It stumbled. Before it could turn, Gohan powered up another masenka-ho beam and waited. The Balrog had found him, but the Saiyan was ready this time. He released the beam and watched as the flame engulfed his opponent and sent him through the wall. The ball was in his court now.

Frodo was awake now and feeling much better. Dende had been waiting for him to recover anxiously as he had many questions that needed answered. He sat the hobbit down and explained the situation to him. "You were struck by a poisoned arrow in Moria", he told him. "Goku brought you here to be healed. You should be okay now".   
"Thank you sir", said Frodo. He put his hand to his chest and panicked; the Ring was missing. Suddenly he felt terrified, but didn't let on as he was in the company of strangers. As he looked back at Dende, he wondered if these strange people had stolen the Ring.   
"Why did you put your hand to your chest?" asked Dende.   
"I don't know", replied Frodo. "I wanted to see if the wound had fully healed".   
Dende eyed him suspiciously. "The wound was in your shoulder Frodo". There was a moment of silence then Dende spoke his mind: "You're the Ring-Bearer, aren't you?" he asked.   
Frodo looked very nervous now.   
"Don't worry", continued the Namek. "You're amongst friends here. I am an acquaintance of Elrond. He has spoken to me many times on this matter".   
Frodo looked up. "So you know about the power of the Ring then?" he asked.   
"Yes", replied Dende. "And I also know how urgent it is that it be destroyed. Do you know where it is now Frodo?"   
"No", Frodo shook his head. "I had it on a chain around my neck before I fell unconscious".   
"Then I fear Middle Earth may be in grave danger".   
Goku was making his way towards them now, having seen that Frodo was conscious again. "Hey little guy. You ready to go?" he asked. Frodo nodded after a look of approval from Dende. He took the hobbit by the arm and prepared himself for instant translocation. "That's funny", he said suddenly. "I can only sense two powers in the mine now". Dende looked worried.   
"Who are they?" he asked.   
"One is definitely Gohan, but the other…I don't know. It's a great power though".   
"What does this mean?" asked Frodo.   
Goku let go of his arm and looked at Dende. "I'm going to go alone", he told the namek. "Something doesn't seem right".   
He put his fingers to his head and disappeared in an instant. As he left, Dende contemplated contacting Elrond.

The hall shook as one wall collapsed completely. The hole the Balrog had made undermined the structure of the room and the ceiling decided to cave in. Bits of rock fell from all around Gohan and the floor was starting to join in on the action. It was no longer safe to remain there; the battle would have to be moved elsewhere. Looking through the wall, Gohan saw the Balrog lying on a large platform next to a narrow bridge. Many staircases surrounded the structure and the ceiling was high. Nothing looked stable here. The only light provided came from the creature himself and that wasn't strong enough to let Gohan see what lay at the bottom of the countless pits that covered the area. He stood by the falling wall as the ground beneath him trembled and powered up a kamehameha. Being careful not to overpower it, he released it with a loud scream and watched as it exploded on its target. The Balrog was thrown into the air and landed back on the platform as it started to crack. The hall was too dangerous to stay in now. Gohan flew down to his opponent as the last remaining rocks fell from the ceiling and destroyed the floor. This was his new battleground now, but he knew it probably wouldn't last much longer due to the last impact. He somersaulted into the air and landed his elbow into the Balrog. The floor cracked some more and Gohan jumped up once more, ready for another attack. He began to drive his foot into the Balrog, but this time it was ready was for him; it cracked its whip hard and fast right into the Saiyan's chest. He screamed in agony and skidded across the ground as he fell. The Balrog lifted its whip and used it once more. The sting was unbearable. Gohan knew his only option was to take his last sensu bean, but this meant he would have to be extremely careful from now on. He reached into his pocket and stopped. A dark figure was standing on the bridge near them. He couldn't see who it was, but he could sense the power well. The figure threw a ball of energy at the Balrog's back. It lit up once more and stumbled. Turning to see who it was, the creature cracked its whip at the figure, who jumped to the side and placed his hands together. The last thing the Balrog would ever see was a powerful kamehameha blast being fired at him. It penetrated its stomach and blasted through its back. The explosion could be felt throughout the entire mine as the Balrog disintegrated in a mess of flesh, bone and fire. The platform cracked completely before sinking into the pit below. Gohan quickly jumped off and hovered above it, watching the remains of his opponent fall into the unknown. When all was calm, he flew over to the bridge, landing beside the dark figure. 'Thanks dad' he said, and shook his hand.

Dende had decided to contact Elrond. The two friends were talking telepathically from the Lookout Point and Rivendell.   
"So the Ring has been lost?" asked Elrond.   
"It may have been. I'm not sure yet", replied Dende.   
"Dammit! I should have known better than to send a bunch of hobbits to do a man's job".   
"It's not your fault, and we don't know for sure it's lost. Even if it is, it may not be in the hands of the enemy. We cannot jump to conclusions Elrond".   
"What is our situation?"   
"The z-Fighters have teamed up with the Fellowship. They're working on a plan I think. Also, they may be heading here. Goku told me he could only sense two powers in Moria, so they may have escaped".   
"Or they may be dead".   
"I don't think so. Not yet anyway".   
Elrond sighed. "This war will be fought by men, elves and dwarves alike….but it will be won by Saiyans".   
"I have to go now Elrond", said Dende suddenly. "This is costing me".   
"Telepathy costs?"   
"It does when it's long distance. I'll speak to you later. Bye old friend!"   
He broke the connection and went to find Mr Popo. It was at that moment Goku and Gohan arrived. They materialised where Dende had been standing and the Namek turned to greet them.   
"Hello Goku. You're back I see!"   
Gohan rolled his eyes at Dende's annoying habit of always stating the obvious.   
"Yeah. We had to defeat some monster", said Goku.   
"It was a Balrog dad".   
"Whatever. Anyway, we were thinking maybe we could use this place as a base since we have a lot of work to do".   
"Goku, you guys have used this place as a base in almost every saga. Do you even have to ask anymore?"   
Goku thought for a second. "Well, this isn't really a saga Dende. It's a one-off special that won't even be televised".   
"Well you can still use it anyway", said Dende, getting bored of the lack of intelligence in the conversation.   
Frodo came running up to them having seen Goku's return. "Did you find my people?" he asked.   
Goku shook his head.   
"And what of the Ring?"   
"No sign of that either I'm afraid", said Goku. The hobbit and the Namek both looked worried. Gohan on the other hand looked terrified; he had just remembered what had happened. "Oh no!" he shouted suddenly. "I forgot! Vegeta…"   
"What about Vegeta, son?" interrupted Goku.   
"He…he has the Ring!"   
They all gasped in shock.   
"This could have devastating consequences!" said Dende. "We have to act fast!"   
"We can't do anything until the others turn up", said Goku.   
"They should be here soon", said Gohan. "They left before I started my fight with the Balrog. They'll be slowed down from having to carry the others but I think they should be here in an hour or so".   
Goku put on a serious expression. "We'll wait for them then. But until they get here….we eat!"

They waited ninety minutes before the others arrived. Goku had worked his way through a years supply of food. 'I wasn't that hungry' he explained to Dende who was looking at him through wide open eyes. The young Namek was thankful that Goku's son didn't share in his father's lust for eating. He ate some food and probably would have given Goku a run for his money, but he felt troubled by the recent events he had witnessed. He had known Vegeta most of his life and was well aware of what the terrible Saiyan was capable of; power ruled every moment of his existence. His only ambition was to be more powerful and this was his driving force; however powerful he was, he would keep going to increase his power, never happy with the level he was at. It was a vicious cycle that ruled his life and if evil is what it took to become more powerful, Gohan knew this wouldn't bother Vegeta a bit.   
Frodo was the first to see the company arrive. Hobbits weren't known for having good eyesight; that was the elves' speciality, but he spotted a dot in the sky and ran to see if it was the Enemy. As it drew nearer, he made out the shape of Gandalf's pointed hat and smiled. Merry and Pippin were waving to him in the distance and he waved back. As soon as they landed, he went off with his hobbit friends, but not before Gandalf could greet him.   
"I see you're looking much better now Frodo", he said.   
Frodo nodded. "Yes Gandalf", then he remembered about the Ring. "My Ring. What happened to my Ring?" he asked. Gandalf was a bit concerned at the fact that Frodo referred to the Ring as being his, but ignored it as it was no longer an issue. Had he remained in possession of the object, it would probably have taken over his will soon. Now that Vegeta had the Ring, however, it was no longer a problem.   
"Vegeta has it now", said Piccolo stepping in for Gandalf. Sam looked nervous standing beside his master.   
"Then I suppose our task has ended in failure", Frodo said as he hung his head in shame.   
"It's not your fault Frodo", came a new voice; that of Legolas.   
"That's right", said Gimli, also comforting Frodo. "It was that runt Sam's fault!" The elf and the dwarf both agreed on this point. A tear rolled down the hobbit's face as Merry and Pippin stepped in to defend him. "You leave him alone!" they shouted. "It wasn't Sam's fault. Vegeta knocked him down. No hobbit could take on someone that size!".   
As they argued with the stoner faction of the Fellowship of the Ring, Piccolo noticed for the first time how alike the two young hobbits were. Standing beside each other he could see they were almost identical in height. He senses their powers. They were low, but still almost identical. An idea popped into his head and he stopped the argument.   
"You two are pretty strong", he said.   
"Us?" asked Merry and Pippin in unison as they turned with a confused look on their faces.   
"Yeah you", replied Piccolo. "There's a way you can become stronger though".   
Piccolo had got the attention of everyone present now.   
"Do you mean…" asked Goku.   
"Yes. I think they should fuse", interrupted Piccolo. "They should be taught the fusion dance; alone they're weak, but as one hobbit, their strength will improve dramatically. We need to be as powerful as we can be to fight Vegeta. Merry, Pippin, do you want to learn the fusion technique?"   
They looked at each other and then at Gandalf. The wizard gave no indication that they should or shouldn't do it. He wanted to leave the decision entirely up to them. So they looked at Legolas and Gimli. The elf and dwarf were still laughing at them and as if their minds were already one, they both pictured being strong enough to take the two on. "We'll do it!" they shouted.   
"Then I'll stay here and teach you the technique", continued Piccolo. "Goten and Trunks can help as they already know it".   
"And what of the plan?" asked Gandalf.   
"You can go with Goku to retrieve the dragonball. Krillan will go with you just in case".   
"In…incase of what?" asked Krillan sounding very nervous.   
Piccolo grinned at the bald headed midget. "In case Vegeta kills one of the others", he said.   
Krillan was genuinely scared now and sweat ran down his bald head. "Why doesn't Goku just use instant translocation?" he asked.   
Goku fielded this one. "I can't sense his power", he answered. "It's fused with a far greater power as Galadriel told me it would be. The only way we can locate him is by using the dragon radar".   
Krillan seemed happy with this response.   
"And what of us?" asked Frodo.   
"Gohan will stay here also and train you and Sam. Your fighting skills probably need touched up. As for the rest of you, that is Yamcha, Boromir, Aragorn", he sighed before the saying the final two names. "Legolas and Gimli. You will all go and search for the seventh dragonball. Any questions?"   
Noone answered. They all agreed to Piccolo's plan, even Gandalf who was sceptical on most plans devised by other people. There was one last thing he needed to do though. He took hold of a small bird that was passing by and whispered in its ear before letting it go. "I have given it instructions to fetch Gwaihir, the Windlord", he told Piccolo. "He will be here shortly to bare me to our destination".   
Piccolo nodded. "Very well", he said in a deep voice. "I'll go get started on teaching Merry and Pippin the fusion technique". He walked into Dende's palace, followed by Goten, Trunks and the two hobbits. "You're gonna love the fusion technique!" said the two saiyans enthusiastically as they walked off.   
"We'd better get started too", said Gohan taking Frodo and Sam into the back of the palace.   
Goku went to Yamcha and gave him the dragonball radar. "Use it well my friend", he told him.   
Yamcha wasn't impressed. "You don't have to talk like these guys do, Goku", he said.   
"I know. It kinda catches on though", he replied.   
Yamcha took a capsule from his pocket and threw it to the ground. "Stand back", he told his small troop as it exploded in a cloud of dust. When the dust cleared, a helicopter stood in its place. The Fellowship of the Ring were amazed. "What…what is that?" they asked.   
"I'll explain on the way", Yamcha told them. He showed them how to get into the aircraft and with one last wave to the remaining members of the company, took off.   
Only Goku, Gandalf and Krillan were left.   
"What about us?" asked Krillan. "When do we leave?"   
"Gwaihir will be here shortly", Gandalf told him. "We shall depart upon his arrival".   
Goku and Krillan both nodded and prepared themselves mentally for the task ahead. Theirs for the toughest of all the tasks that had been appointed, and they each knew they might never return. They stood in silence and waited for their epic journey to begin.

A plan has been devised to defeat Vegeta and regain the Ring, but will Vegeta succumb to its power? The battle continues in Chapter 8.


	8. Chapter8: Flight of the Nazgul

****

Chapter 8: Flight of the Nazgul

Inside a small, pillared room amidst Dende's palace, two hobbits, two saiyans and a namek were hard at work. Their task did not seem important but they had no way of knowing how vital it would be to the success of the Fellowship. Goten and Trunks were laughing like a couple of stoners at the sight of Merry and Pippin, much to the annoyance of Piccolo. Their mirth ceased after a stern grin from the Namek whose facial expressions accounted for 99% of his total communication. In this case, it told the saiyans that they were to demonstrate the fusion dance again. This turned their neutral mood into one of despair; they enjoyed fusing, but had never caught on to the dance. It was a stupid set of moves and one that in any other circumstance would be pointless. They did it nonetheless. "Fu…" they said in unison as they stood three feet apart with their arms outstretched. "Sion…", they tiptoed over to each other, changed the direction their arms were pointing and lifted their right and left leg respectively. "HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" they leaned into each other and touched their index fingers. The dance had been performed correctly, but no fusion occurred as their powers were not aligned. Piccolo didn't want them to fuse as it would take half an hour for the effect to wear off. This was bad not only because they wouldn't be able to demonstrate the dance anymore, but also because Piccolo did not like Gotenks, the rebellious punk, that Goten and Trunks turned into. The two Hobbits clapped at the sight and clicked their heels. Apparently, they had become the first people ever to like the dance.   
"We have many dances like that in Hobbitton", explained Pippin. "We must teach it to our friends when we return!.   
"Um…no. I don't think that would be a good idea", said Piccolo as he imagined what it would be like if the entire hobbit population accidentally fused. "Best keep this our little secret".   
Merry and Pippin couldn't wait to try again. This would be their fourth attempt since they had begun their training half an hour ago. They stood three feet apart and copied Goten and Trunks' moves identically. Unfortunately, just as it seemed as if this attempt would be successful, Pippin tripped over himself and fell to the ground. Trunks and Goten giggled again. "Do you guys really like that dance?" asked Trunks.   
"Yes", replied Merry. "It's a good dance".   
"Don't you find it a little um…what's the word?"   
"Gay?" suggested Goten.   
"No", replied Trunks. "I dunno what that word means".   
Goten looked disappointed. "I was hoping you _did_", he told his friend, "cause I wanna know what it means".   
"Ask Piccolo then", suggested Trunks.   
"Picco…"   
"No", interrupted Piccolo, going red in the cheeks, partly from anger, partly from embarrassment. "I won't tell you what it means. You'll just have to use a different word".   
"Okay", said Trunks, thinking hard. "How about sad?"   
"It doesn't make me sad", said Goten, looking confused.   
"No, I mean…"   
"Look!", shouted Piccolo, becoming angry now. "Merry and Pippin are almost there! Shut up and let them try again, okay?"   
The two saiyans nodded and kept quiet as they watched the hobbits get into position. "Fu…" they said together as they stretched their arms out, "sion…" they moved towards each other. Suddenly Piccolo stopped them. "It won't work", he said. "Merry, your arms are at the wrong angle. Move them down about 15 degrees and start again".   
They moved back into position for another attempt.

Through the door Gohan was finding it hard to concentrate on what he was doing from the noise of the fusion crew. Every two minutes he could hear "Fu…sion..HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and it was starting to give him a headache. "Could you keep it down in there?" he shouted, banging on the wall, "Some of us are trying to train!"   
"Hey, screw you!" came a muffled Namekian voice from the other side.   
"Just ignore him, Mister Gohan", said Sam trying to help. He could see Gohan was close to breaking point. The Saiyan decided that if it didn't stop soon he would see if Dende had any other rooms or ask him to soundproof the training halls. He cheered up for a second at the sight of Frodo and Sam engaging each other in combat. Steel clashed against steel as they fought like true swordsmen. Gohan had been a good choice to train the two hobbits as he was experienced in dealing with swords; he had trained hard with the z sword not long before. The speed at which Frodo could fight at now was incredible. Sam was improving too, but at a slower rate. 'Incredible!', though Gohan. 'They're so small!'; he wasn't as focused as he should have been. As he watched them dual, he remembered the days when he was training with the z sword on the home of the Kais. The feelings he had felt upon freeing the weapon from the rock rushed through him once more as he became nostalgic. 'Pull harder Gohan' he could hear the Supreme Kai saying to him. 'He can't get it out' said Kibito inside his head. If anyone had heard the conversation that was going on in Gohan's mind, they probably would have become aroused from the sexual innuendo. He just about had the sword free when the Kai and Kibito both shouted "Fu…sion…ha!" Gohan awoke from his daydream with renewed anger. "That's it!" he screamed, forcing his fist through the barrier. His angry expression was clearly visible through the hole he had made and Piccolo looked shock as he, Goten, Trunks, Merry and Pippin all turned at once. Gohan had opened a can of whoopass.

"What was that?" asked Krillan, suddenly turning. He had heard the sound of Gohan's fist breaking through the marble wall.   
"That's probably Gohan putting his fist through the marble wall", said Goku. "I know my son well. Any part of his body makes the same sound breaking through any material. I've got used to hearing it from since he was a baby. He used to break a lot of walls".   
Gandalf looked on is disbelief.   
"What's that?" asked Krillan. Goku looked at him, frustrated. Krillan had been saying those two words for the last half hour. This time, however, he had spotted something useful; Gwaihir, the Windlord, was making his way through the clouds. He flew with great speed and grace towards the floating kingdom. Gandalf smiled as his friend approached. The giant bird landed beside them and pulled back its wings.   
"Hello my friend!" said Gandalf with a large grin on his face.   
Gwaihir rolled his eyes. "Where do you want to go this time Gandalf the grey?"he asked sarcastically.   
"That's hardly a way to greet an old friend, is it Gwaihir?" asked the wizard.   
"Gandalf, the only time you ever call on me is when you want something, so what is it this time?"   
"Um…I need to journey", he told the bird.   
"Okay. Hop on then. Oh! My prices have gone up by the way".   
"Do I still get my wizard's discount?"   
"No, that offer finished in the second age I'm afraid".   
Gandalf sighed. "I remember the days when I could travel on your back for free old friend".   
"Yeah, well that was before I had a wife and two kids to support, now do you have any money?" Gwaihir asked. He then turned to look at Goku. "What're you staring at?" he asked.   
"Um…nothing", replied Goku nervously. "I just didn't know birds could talk".   
This was one of Goku's random outbursts that others took note of as evidence of his stupidity. After all, he lived in a city with a cat as its mayor. Also, Korrin was only fifty feet below them, so he knew fine well animals could talk. Gandalf took out some change and put it in the bird's beak. "Are you ready Goku?" he asked. He knew that the saiyan would be doing most of the work.   
"Where to?" asked Goku.   
It was Krillan's turn to roll his eyes now. "We'll tell you on the way Goku", he said, and the three took off to find Vegeta. Although Goku had given his radar to Yamcha, he had studied it carefully beforehand; Vegeta's dragonball had stayed in the same spot for hours. That meant they could find him easily since they had learned the precise location. They knew Vegeta would never leave his dragonball unattended; not after what happened all those years ago on Namek.

Vegeta smiled as he shot through the top of Moria. He was invisible but his grin could still be sensed by the rest of the Z-Fighters who knew him too well. Adjusting to this new vision the Ring provided would be hard though. He took the it off and put it in his pocket with his dragonball. The power was his now; the Ring was under his control, as was he under the Ring's control, and the two powers were fused as one. Strangely, the Ring didn't seem to mind being with Vegeta; it put up no struggle and stayed as light as possible, although the Saiyan could have carried it no matter how heavy it was. In addition, it didn't attempt to leave his pocket. This was understandable though; Sauron had thought the Ring would always find its way back to him because he was its creator; he forged it using his own power; He and the Ring were two of the same. This was not the case however. Through a flaw in its design, the Ring sought power. It had no compassion or sense of loyalty; it desired only to be as powerful as possible, and Vegeta was far stronger than the Dark Lord. The combination worked for both parties; it gave them both what they desired, and they both desired the same thing.   
He had been flying for a while now and decided to land. Setting down by an open field, he drew the Ring from his pocket and studied it, admiring its beauty. 'I can't believe something this small could be a source of such great power' he thought, but already he could feel the energy of the Ring flowing through his body. It slipped through his hand, seemingly trying to find its way onto his finger again. Vegeta was never clumsy; this couldn't have been an accident. He stopped it before it could reach its destination though and hid it once more. Uneager to re-enter that strange world the Ring had taken him to the first time he had worn it, he kept it in his pocket. In the distance he could hear horses galloping across the grass and quickly checked to see if the Ring was safe. The sillouhettes of eight horses, all manned by men wearing black capes, came into sight and were heading straight for Vegeta. He suddenly remembered the town the Fellowship had found the first dragonball in and the black rider he had destroyed. His arms were folded as he stood, curious as to what the riders wanted from him. He knew for a fact he could take them on if he had to. If he could kill one of them without the Ring, he could destroy an army of them with it. They circled Vegeta three times then lined up in a row. One of the horses in the middle took a step forward and drew his sword. Dismounting his steed, he walked towards Vegeta, kneeled and offered him his weapon. "I am King Morgul", he explained. "I am leader of the Nazgul. We offer our services to you our Lord".

Vegeta grinned at this show of respect. He didn't know who these men were, but the thought of having his own Special Forces excited him. It would be like Friesa and the Ginyu Force, only infinitely more powerful. There was something strange about these men though. Vegeta couldn't see their faces or sense their power level. "Why are you masked?" he asked Morgul. "Are you trying to hide something?"   
"No my Lord. We cannot be seen in this realm. If you wish to view us, you must place the Ring on your finger".   
Vegeta was suspicious. This could easily be a trick. Nevertheless, he took the Ring out and did as he was instructed. Everything suddenly turned dark and blurry again and he felt strange. The ground moved below him and he found himself suddenly in a huge tower. Beside him was a large throne and the Black Riders were with him in the same positions as before, only now he could see their faces. Morgul looked old and wisened. He had a long white beard and wrinkled skin and eyes of a man who has experienced much hardship. Vegeta looked down and pitied him almost for a second, then he scanned all their power levels. Morgul was stronger than the others by far, but still not too powerful. This wasn't his chief concern at the moment though; he still wanted to know where he was. "Where are we?" he asked.   
"We are in another dimension our Lord. This is our home where we are trapped for all eternity. The room in which we appear to be standing is your throne in the tower of Barad-Dur. It belonged to the Dark Lord Sauron. The Ring belonged to him too. However, we no longer serve him; he is weak compared to you. We serve only the Ring, and in the hands of one powerful enough it is possible to draw our loyalties from the Dark Lord. We wish only to serve you now…Vegeta".   
Vegeta wondered how they knew his name, but this was still far down his list of concerns. "You are too weak to serve me", he told them. "You will die easily against my enemies".   
"Then we will die quickly, but we will die for you", said Morgul.   
Vegeta considered this for a moment. They were weak, but they respected him, or so he thought. In actual fact, they respected the Ring more, but they weren't going to tell him that. Saurons spirits spoke in the heads of the Nazgul. 'You bastards!' it said. Morgul smiled and ignored it. Now was the time to seal the deal. "If you take us today, we'll throw in an army of orcs and trolls as well".   
This got Vegeta interested again. "How big an army?" he asked.   
"We have thousands of demons my Lord", replied Morgul.   
Vegeta smiled. An entire army that would die for him. They could amuse him even if they couldn't fight to save themselves. "I'll take it!" he exclaimed.   
"You won't regret it", said Morgul. "If you wish, we can take you to Barad-Dur now".   
"Okay. Take me there", he said. "But in my dimension".   
Morgul accepted his sword back from Vegeta and re-mounted his horse.   
"Wait", said Vegeta suddenly. "I have a better idea", and he laughed an evil laugh.

Dende and Mr.Popo ran through the door to see what was going on. "We heard an explosion," exclaimed Popo.   
"Shut up!" shouted Gohan. "This is between me and the Namek". His eyes were locked on Piccolo's and if looks could kill, Piccolo would be saying hello to King Yemma right now. He pulled down the marble surrounding the hole he had made and stepped through to the fusion chamber. "So…" he said in the most intimidating voice he could manage. "Are you going to keep the noise down, or am I going to have to make you?"   
"Please don't do anything hasty Gohan", Dende begged the saiyan. "I just had the place refurbished!"   
Piccolo did not look worried. He threw off his cloak and turban and waited for Gohan to make his move. Meanwhile, Merry and Pippin had run to the back of the room. Ignoring the fight, they attempted the fusion dance once more. They stood three feet apart and raised their arms. "Fu…" they both said as Gohan drew back his fist. "sion…" they moved closer together as Piccolo blocked his face with his arms. "HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Gohan stopped his punch mid-air as a powerful burst of light exploded across the room. He shielded his eyes for a moment as Piccolo watched the source in amazement. Dende and Popo looked astonished. Goten and Trunks cheered wildly. 'Is this what it's like when we fuse?' they wondered. The light was clearing and they could see only one hobbit stood where two had been before. He looked strong and proud and bore a long, sharp sword. He twirled it in his hands as the lighting in the room returned to normal. All present could see the hobbit clearly now. He wore primitive fighting attire. It was brown with many rips and sleeveless. His belt was a thick piece of rope. It held together his brown trousers made from the same material as his shirt. His hair was curly and black and ran down over his broad shoulders where his bulging hobbit muscles started. He looked strong. His feet were rooted in the ground and his legs apart as he showed off his skills with his weapon.   
"They did it!" exclaimed Piccolo. "They really did it!"   
"He looks pretty tough", said Gohan, impressed at the results of the fusion.   
"Does he have a name?" asked Mr.Popo.   
"Hmm…I guess we should give him one", said Piccolo. "Their full names are Meriadoc and Perrigrin. Um…how about Perriadoc?"   
Gohan made a face at this suggestion. "I don't like it. How about Merrigrin?"   
"Pippy", came a voice from across the room. "My name is Pippy. And I'm a hell of a lot stronger than anyone in this room".

Vegeta sat on his throne in Barad-Dur, now feeling like the Prince of all living things rather than just the Saiyans of which there were but a handful left. He finally felt the true extent of his power, realising he didn't need to be strong to be in command. People were asking to serve him without having to be bullied into it. Strength was still important to him though and it would be fun to test out his newfound power. Khamul of the Nazgul knelt by his side, looking rather like a pet. He had been chosen by the Witch King to take Vegeta to the tower and carry out his orders while the rest were away. The first of his duties was complete; the second wouldn't be so easy.   
"The seven are abroad Lord Vegeta", Khamul said, moving to kneel before his new king.   
"Yes, I know that. I sent them out idiot!", said Vegeta angrily. "Do you know if they have completed their task yet?"   
"I am not sure my Lord. I cannot sense them once they have reached a distance outside the range of my ring's power".   
"I can't sense them either. It must be this Ring overpowering my abilities".   
"What are the dragonballs my Lord?"   
Vegeta smiled and took his one ball from his pocket. It shone brightly in the light from the cracks in the walls that allowed the sun to penetrate the fortress. The beams seemed to converge on it and the Ring suddenly made itself heavier as if to show it were jealous. "This will be my final source of power", he explained. "Once I have all seven, I will be immortal, and the ring and I will be fused permanently as one".   
Khamul's expression was invisible to all but the Ring. He was happy for the fact that his Lord was happy, but worried for a reason he did not know. He was the last of the Nazgul to see a dragonball; Vegeta had shown it already to the others so that they could pick up the scent of it. He put the ball away at the same time the light diverged from it. His face took on a more serious expression and he sat down once more.   
"Where is that army Morgul was telling me about?" he asked.   
"The Orcs?" asked Khamul. "They're scattered about Mordor. There's a grouping of them in Cirith Ungol".   
"And the trolls?" asked Vegeta, not wanting to be cheated out of one single solider. "Morgul said something about trolls too".   
"We have many creatures my Lord. They are all ready to be deployed at your command".   
The beams of light converged once more. This time onto Vegeta, and for a moment he looked as powerful as he was, yet not as powerful as he felt. "What is the nearest land not under my control?" he asked.   
"Gondor", replied Khamul. "It is populated by men. Denethor, the steward, rules the country. He isn't a king, but his power will fall at the King's return".   
"His power will fall when I say it falls!" shouted Vegeta. "Deploy my troops and ready them for attack. I want the world to know there's a new King, and he has returned to the throne".   
"All of them?" Khamul asked nervously.   
"Yes", smiled Vegeta. The decision was almost as foolish as its maker.

It was an exciting time at the palace. A new person had just been created and a valuable one at that. Pippy was stronger than both Merry and Pippin put together and his skills were far more impressive than either of theirs. Apparently the abilities of the two hobbits complimented each other perfectly, forming an almost invincible warrior. He seemed cocky, but also knew his limitations, so Piccolo didn't fear this personality trait would be a threat as it was with Gotenks. The young hobbit had his sword in one hand and his other hand clenched in a fist. "I wish to fight", he told the company.   
"No problem!" shouted Trunks.   
"No, I don't think that's a good idea", warned Piccolo, but Trunks and Goten had already started the fusion dance. An explosion of light filled the small room once more as the two saiyans became one. Gotenks, who they all knew and feared, stood before them. He was the most unpredictable of all saiyans and cockier even than Vegeta. He never thought before going into battle and reckoned he could take on anyone in the universe. Not even proof to the contrary would persuade him to be more careful.   
"If it's a fight you want, prepare to die!" exclaimed Gotenks in a voice that contained elements of both Goten's and Trunks'.   
Pippy twirled his sword and posed for his adversary. The two hybrids grinned at each other and prepared to fight. They did not have a willing audience but this didn't bother them much, both existing purely to fight. Fortunately, they were stopped by the distraction of a noise coming from outside the palace. Gohan, Piccolo and Dende had already rushed out to see what it was, and in the distance they could hear the sound of eagles. 'It can't be Goku', thought Piccolo. 'Not this soon. And there's more than one eagle there'. They were joined by Mr.Popo, Pippy and Gotenks who were also curious as to the disturbance the others had seen. They stood back and waited for the strangers to arrive. There were seven of them. Each looked identical and wore a black cloak, under which no features could be made out. The shape of a sword stuck out from beneath their clothing and they seemed to be facing the Fellowship. Flying in single file on their living transport, they reached into the darkness and unsheathed their steel. The birds stopped short of Dende's marble garden and allowed their passengers to jump off.   
"Alright", said the middle of the cloaked men. "Let's do this just as Lord Vegeta told us to".   
They moved around a bit and attempted to strike a series of pathetic looking poses. Finally, they ended in a pose that incorporated all of their bodies. "We are the Nazgul force!" they exclaimed. All present looked extremely confused. Morgul, the leader of the Nazgul, broke his pose and stood normally. "That didn't quite feel right", he said. "We'll just tell Vegeta we made it look good".   
"Hold on a minute. You work for Vegeta?" Piccolo asked,   
Morgul turned to face him. "He is our King", he told the Namek. "And he sent us to retrieve his dragonballs".   
"_His_ dragonballs?" asked Gohan.   
Morgul ignored the question and pointed his sword at them. "Are you going to give us the balls, or are we going to have to kill you and find them ourselves?"   
"We'll die defending the balls if we have to", said Piccolo.   
"Then so be it", said Morgul. "Vegeta will have his wish, and you will have your wish". The seven swung their swords and approached Piccolo.   
'These guys aren't so tough', he thought, remembering how easily Vegeta had destroyed the first Nazgul almost a week ago. He put his fingers to his head and concentrated his ki. "Masenka-ho!!!!!!!!!" he screamed as a long spiralling beam emanated from his temples. Morgul laughed from behind his cloak. His expression could not be seen, but it could be felt from his laughter. He brought his sword before him and swung it at the beam as a batter would a baseball. It deflected off the weapon and flew into the side of Dende's palace.   
"I told you guys not to fight here!" said Dende. "Why do you never listen to me?"   
Gohan shot a large ki pulse from his hand. Morgul deflected this also. It flew into the sky and disappeared from view. The teenage saiyan continued his attack with a burst of rapid ki pulses aimed at all seven of the Nazgul. Each drew their swords and swung the energy away safely.   
Morgul laughed wholeheartedly. "Vegeta told us every one of your tricks!" he stated. "We can defend against any of your attacks".   
"It's all very well knowing how to block our attacks", said Piccolo, "But how are you strong enough to do it?"   
"Vegeta gave us each a significant amount of his power", replied Morgul. "If you sense our ki, I'm sure you'll find each of us is significantly stronger than any of you".   
"But won't that leave him powerless?" asked Gohan.   
Morgul laughed again. "The Ring has given him power you cannot even begin to comprehend. His gift to us is as a penny to a millionaire".   
Gohan lowered his eyebrows. He had fully recovered from his fight with the Balrog and felt the sudden urge to kill the Witch King. He charged at him, elbow first, at a great speed. Morgul pointed his blade at Gohan and the saiyan dodged round it, aiming now to attack him from behind. Another of the Nazgul spotted this and threw a punch at Gohan who fell and skidded across the marble ground. Morgul wasn't happy about this show of disrespect. His temper grew as he became serious and felt the need to really hurt rather than toy with these weaklings. He walked slowly over to Gohan and raised his sword. The black cape floated in the wind and the darkness it concealed struck more terror into the hearts of the Fellowship than it ever could were it visible. He plunged the sword down, only to strike the hard ground. It chipped the marble as Gohan rolled to safety and bounced back onto his feet. Another black rider was waiting for him though, and with a swing of his sword, he knocked Gohan to the ground. The saiyan gasped for air and struggled to get up. "They…they're too fast", he managed to get out before lapsing into unconsciousness.   
Piccolo snarled through gritted teeth. "What kind of monsters are you?" he asked, not expecting an answer, or at least an answer he'd like.   
"I told you", came Morgul from behind him. "Lord Vegeta warned us of all your tactics. You cannot hurt us".   
Piccolo suspected Morgul was right, but the sight of his friend lying, hurt, on the ground enraged him. "MASENKA-HO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he shouted, letting loose another deadly beam. It was struck away by Morgul who did not seem phased by the attack. Piccolo continued with rapid fire, watching the Nazgul's tactics as they avoided the blasts; looking for an opportunity; a weak spot in their defence. Then he spotted it. The one at the back. He was slower than the others. He seemed to be struggling to keep up with them and narrowly missed being hit by several of Piccolo's ki pulses. Smiling, he zanzookened behind the Black Rider and placed his hand on its back. He released all his energy at once and blew the creature into the next dimension. Everyone except the Nazgul shielded their eyes from the explosion; they existed in another realm and could not see it in all its glory. They knew what had happened though. Now they were one less.   
"So…I can't hurt you then?" smiled Piccolo, landing once more. He had jumped to avoid the blast after he was sure the Nazgul was destroyed.   
Morgul's expression was so daunting, it could almost be seen by the Namek. "Dwa was weak!" he exclaimed. "You got lucky but believe me…it won't happen again".   
Piccolo believed him; he realised it had been pure luck that Dwa was slower than the rest, but none of the others appeared to have any weakness. The Nazgul had shown they know all the techniques the z-fighters used and it was useless trying to stop them. Anything Piccolo tried from now on would just get him killed in the end. "We have no choice", he said to his friends who were standing behind him. "We have to surrender the dragonballs".   
"What, are you crazy?" asked Gotenks. "I'll fight them if you won't, but we're not giving those freaks the dragonballs!"   
"Piccolo is right Gotenks", said Mr. Popo. "If you fight them you will most likely be killed. They seem to know all your attacks".   
"But they don't know mine", came another voice. It was Pippy. He stepped forward looking more confident than ever. "Vegeta may have warned those men about your attacks and told them how to defend against them, but he can't have told them about my attacks".   
"Do you have any?" asked Gotenks, not impressed with what he had seen from the hobbit. As far as he was concerned, there was no greater fusion than himself.   
Pippy smiled and drew his sword, walking slowly towards Morgul. "I will fight you", he exclaimed.   
Morgul was confused. "You'll fight me?" he repeated. "But you are a mere hobbit!"   
Pippy grinned. He dashed to the right and plunged his sword deep into the chest of one of the Nazgul. It fell quickly, dead before it hit the ground.   
"I may be a hobbit", said Pippy, "But I have the skill of a ranger, the agility of an elf and the strength of a troll. I suggest you leave now if you don't want to end up like your friend".   
Enraged, Morgul swung his sword at Pippy. It clashed against the young hobbit's steel and they engaged each other in swordplay. Pippy was trying his best to keep up with Morgul, the more experienced swordsman. He had no chance to attack as Morgul was too fast. Blocking every hit, he found himself being pushed back to the edge of Dende's garden.   
The other Nazgul took it upon themselves to combat the remaining z-fighters. Dende and Mr.Popo were taken out easily, both with blows to the back of the head. Gotenks and Piccolo used their fists to block the swords. They both realised the need to disarm the enemy; without weapons, they might be easier to defend against, even if they knew they couldn't defeat them. They both jumped in the path of one of the Black Riders. With a spinning kick, they managed to send his sword flying out of his hands and high over the palace. One more came from behind them though and knocked them down with a blow to their backs using his sword. The others piled up on them and used their fists as weapons now. Piccolo and Gotenks managed to return a few blows, but most of them were avoided easily by the Nazgul. They couldn't get up anymore. With one final blow each, they were knocked unconscious. The fate of the world lay in Pippy's hands now.   
Pippy knew he was too close to the edge. With one surprise attack, Morgul could send him flying, and that would mean certain death. He somersaulted back and landing on one foot, sprung twice till he was behind his enemy. They had switched positions now. Taken by surprise, Morgul didn't see the fist being swung hard at him. It struck him in his invisible face, and he fell off the side of the land. Pippy couldn't believe his luck. He had no idea it would be this easy to defeat the leader of the Nazgul. Taking no time to celebrate, he turned to face the four remaining Black Riders. They had just finished work on Piccolo and Gotenks and now pointed their swords at him. The hobbit stood poised for attack, waiting for them to make the first move. They seemed to have the same idea though, and nobody did anything for a while. 'Why aren't they attacking?' Pippy asked himself. 'I'm giving them every opportunity'. Behind him, a great eagle was rising into view. On it sat Morgul in all his glory. He laughed an evil laugh as Pippy felt a shiver run down his spine. By command, the large bird swooped down at him at great speed. He ducked and narrowly avoided certain death once more. Disappointed, Morgul jumped off his transport and joined his team-mates. It was five against one now. This didn't discourage Pippy though; he knew their style of fighting. He was certain he could take them all on. But it was too late; He felt a funny feeling take over his body and suddenly found himself being torn apart. And then he ceased to exist. Merry and Pippin stood where he had been standing. They were confused and didn't know where they were. The Nazgul were also confused. Not wasting any time to figure it out, they charged at the two hobbits and found it was not hard to defeat them. Merry and Pippin, the last defence, lay unconscious on the ground. They had failed to defend the dragonballs. After a brief search of the palace, the Nazgul found what they were looking for. Victorious, they mounted their eagles and headed back to Mordor. The dead were left behind as they were useless now. Of course, their rings were taken from them and any items they had with them. After that, they were abandoned. The Nazgul left, each with a dragonball in his hand. They flew back home as peacefully as they had flown to the battle, their confidence renewed by their success.

Things are going from bad to worse for our heroes. Their last hope is that Yamcha and his team can find the last dragonball and keep it safe. Find out how they fare in Chapter 9


	9. Chapter9: The last dragonball

****

Chapter 9: The last dragonball

"What is this thing again?" asked Boromir. It was the seventeenth time Yamcha had been asked the question, so he could see it coming. No matter how many times he gave the same answer, his new friends couldn't seem to grasp the concept of a machine that could fly without wings. He ignored it this time and decided to wait till it had been asked twenty times to answer it once more. As long as the radar showed they were nearing the dragonball, he would stay sane. Concentrating on its beeps helped him to ignore the annoying string of repetitive questions anyway and he had never appreciated Goku more than he did now for giving him the tool. In his opinion, this saviour in the form of a dragon radar was a kinder gift than the defeat of Friesa and being brought back to life by the dragonballs. Of course he still had to keep a watchful eye on the passengers to make sure they didn't touch any of the numerous buttons that were scattered around the helicopter. He looked at his watch and rolled his eyes. It was time. '5…4…3…2…1' he counted in his head.   
"What is this thing again?" asked Legolas. They were regular as clockwork. The pattern suggested to Yamcha that this was a deliberate ploy to get on his nerves, but it wouldn't work this time; they were only on number eighteen.   
"What does this button do?" asked Gimli. The introduction of a new question inclined Yamcha to answer, hoping it would take their minds off 'What is this thing again?' He looked round to see what the dwarf was looking at.   
"DON'T TOUCH THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he screamed, just as Gimli was about to press it. He put his hand to his heart and recovered his breath. Several decibels louder and he would have probably given himself a minor heart attack. The others looked confused.   
"That's the ejector seat!" said Yamcha, annoyed. "If you'd pressed that you would have shot through the roof and be falling to the ground right now!"   
"Oh", was all Gimli could say in response to the explanation. Yamcha turned back and checked the radar. The interruption had put them slightly off course. He adjusted the controls and once again they were on the right track. Meanwhile, Legolas had an idea. He leaned over to his friend and whispered in his ear 'I dare you to press it'   
'No way!' Gimli whispered back.   
'I knew you wouldn't', continued Legolas. 'Dwarves are all cowards.'   
'If I must press the button to defend the honour of my people, then so be it!' said Gimli, and Legolas looked very excited as the dwarf's finger approached the button. The clumsy dwarf finger sunk down heavily and seemed to be moving in slow motion as the button pushed into the control panel. Suddenly it popped back up and Gimli disappeared. A loud, deep, scream could be heard in conjunction with a smash, and many shards of glass fell into the small compartment.   
"What the…" said Yamcha, quickly turning. "OH NO!!"   
Thinking fast, he put the helicopter on auto-pilot and opened the side door. He jumped out and flew towards Gimli who was hurtling towards earth at a great speed. He flew as fast as he could and caught up with the dwarf.   
"By Durin's tomb! This is the greatest thrill I have ever experienced!" shouted the dwarf. Tears rolled from his eyes due to the pressure of the wind on his face and he seemed to be smiling.   
"You idiot!" said Yamcha, flying fast beside him. "Don't you know you're going to die?"   
Gimli had apparently forgotten about that. "Save me!" he shouted.   
Yamcha rolled his eyes once more and flew below Gimli. He caught the foolish dwarf and flew him back up to the helicopter, strapping him into his seat. "Noone else do that!" he warned as he put the auto-pilot controls off and retook control.   
"How was it?" asked Legolas.   
"Fun", replied Gimli, "But I almost died."   
"Cool," replied the elf. "I wonder if my eject button works."   
He pressed it and a high-pitched scream was heard in conjunction with another loud smash.   
"Shit! Not again!" said Yamcha. He put auto-pilot back on and leapt through the door. Flying towards Legolas, he caught the elf easily. Legolas had not yet peaked in his upward trajectory, so it was a simple matter of flying low to catch him. This was because elves are much lighter than dwarves. Yamcha strapped Legolas into his seat and took out a screwdriver. He opened the control panel for his seat and cut every wire in it. He then proceeded to do the same for Gimli's panel, Boromir's and Aragorn's. This time he was taking no chances. Putting the helicopter off auto-pilot, he retook the controls once more and relaxed.   
"What is this thing again?" asked Aragorn, and a very loud scream was heard for a long time. The question was never asked again.

After a while they landed. The radar beeped loudly in Yamcha's hand as the five left the copter. Noone had said anything after the scream, noticing how edgy Yamcha seemed and the rest of the journey had been spent in silence. But now as he stepped onto the soft grass and felt the sun hit his face, he smiled again. Seeing it was safe to talk, Aragorn walked alongside the young man and studied the radar with him.   
"Why have we landed?" he asked.   
"I think the dragonball is near here somewhere", Yamcha replied. "I think we should go by foot now."   
"I agree," said Aragorn, and the company followed them. They walked for a while before coming to the start of a large forest. Realising there was no other path to the dragonball, Yamcha led them through it. As he walked, a strange feeling of déjà vu came over him. The lighting of the forest, the height and nature of the trees, the stony ground…this looked very like the forest he had battled those strange creatures in. He didn't say anything , mainly as he wasn't certain, partly so as to not worry his troop, but he sensed danger was present. If the forest could speak, he thought it would be telling him to leave…now…and never come back, and he had a feeling it was good advice.   
The air became putrid deeper into the forest. It smelt like warm blood that had been exposed to the sun. Yamcha knew the smell all too well. He looked round at the others who seemed to be aware of it by the screwed up looks on their faces. Then suddenly he stepped in a small pool of water. He looked down at his shoe and found that it was not water. His suspicion as to the nature of the smell had been correct and he was, in fact, standing in a pool of rotten blood. Near it lay a helmet and some broken armour. Small knives and daggers were scattered about the place and body parts of strange, but familiar, creatures.   
"Orcs!" yelled Boromir upon seeing the mess.   
"Don't shout," warned Aragorn. "We don't want to attract attention".   
Yamcha looked at the surroundings and felt relieved. "It's okay", he told them. "They're all dead".   
"How can you know?" asked Gimli, looking suspicious of Yamcha.   
"Because I took part in their final battle".   
Their eyes widened as they stared, admiringly, at Yamcha who seemed emotionless as he checked the radar once more, probably to take his mind off the sight. So many questions formed in their heads in light of this information, but they were interrupted before they could ask them.   
"Quite a mess, isn't it?" said a foreign voice. A tall, hunched-up man stood before them. He wore a long, tattered robe that looked like it hadn't been washed for a while and his beard was almost as long and dirty, although its original whiteness still showed in places. He looked old and had a face that inspired pity to its viewer. He smiled despite his obvious misery and offered his hand to Yamcha. After shaking it, Yamcha wiped the confused look off his face and asked the man who he was.   
"I _was_ a great being at one time," said the man, "Now I am not. I was a fool," he continued. "Now if a fool I be, I know it even less. My appearance has withered quickly much as my stature has, for now my outward visage has become like my inward."   
"That's all very well", said Yamcha, "but what I wanted was your name and your business."   
"Can't you spare some time to hear the story of a poor, lonely beggar?" asked the man.   
"Maybe, but tell me your name and business first."   
"My name is Sharky", said the man. "My business –not that it is any of _your_ business- is as I have already stated, a beggar."   
Yamcha had no desire to discuss the mess of orc ligaments and armour lying about, so he decided to keep Sharky off the subject. "Why did you come to us?" he asked.   
"I came for company, but failing that anything you can spare would be appreciated. I have very little and less than I need."   
Aragorn stood closer to Yamcha and whispered in his ear. "Do not be deceived by him. Men of such stature do not belong and forests and should not be trusted."   
Sharky looked up and grinned through narrow eyes.   
"We'll give him what we can," said Yamcha, and took a couple of energy bars from his pocket. Aragorn and Boromir took some bread from theirs and Legolas and Gimli unwillingly handed over a small amount of weed.   
'There goes our Sunday toke' they both thought to themselves.   
"Thank you", Sharky said, "you're good deed will not go unrewarded."   
He laughed to himself as he walked slowly away, clutching the goods in his hands.   
"I do not trust him at all", said Aragorn. "He did not seem as he claimed to be."   
"Look," said Yamcha, "Noone's more distrustful than me, and I think he was legit".   
Noone argued and they walked on.   
A few minutes later Yamcha went to check the radar. "It's gone!" he exclaimed as his hand felt around his pocket.   
"What?" asked Aragorn. "Are you sure?"   
"Yes. I can't find it anywhere!"   
"When did you last check it?" asked Boromir.   
"Right before…", he stopped as his face suddenly took on the expression of someone who had just seen a ghost. "Right before we met the old man."   
"I told you we shouldn't have trusted him! Everyone split up. Meet back here in ten minutes or shout for us if you find him."   
Immediately they ran off in different directions. Aragorn gave Yamcha a stern look before he left.   
Ten minutes later they met up. Noone had called for anyone. They each saw the disappointment in the others' eyes as one by one they returned, alone.   
"Now what?" asked Legolas. "He not only has our radar, but he also has our weed!"   
"Don't worry", Yamcha replied. "We're very close to the dragonball anyway. We don't need the radar now. It's just a matter of looking around. Even if we had the radar, it couldn't have pinpointed the location any better than it already had."   
"Okay," said Aragorn. He was not quite so upset now. "Let us leave the forest. It will be easier to find if we ask someone close to the area and I doubt we'll find anyone here."   
The others agreed and they set off once more.

They left the forest at the north exit, avoiding Isengard, though none of them knew it or would have recognised it should they have taken the east exit. Following the strength at which the sun penetrated the trees led them out of the forest and back into civilisation, if you could call it that. There was grass once more. Pure green grass and not the mud-riddled stuff they had been walking on for the last two hours. The sun shone brightly and forced them to shield their eyes till they were used to it once more. A long narrow path ran across the ground, too straight not to be man made, and a bizarre looking house, for want of a better word, faced them from a quarter of a mile off.   
"Who would live in a house like that?" asked Boromir.   
They watched for a while and saw nor heard neither sight nor sound, bar the humming and singing of the birds. Then the silence was broken. Something stepped out in front of Boromir.   
"AARRRRGGGGHHH!!!!!!! IT'S A BIG FAT MONSTER!!" he cried, deafening them all.   
Once the scream had stopped, Yamcha opened his eyes again and gave a confused look as the beast came into focus. "Wait a minute…" he said, "That's not a monster. That's…"   
"BUU!!" came the monster, finishing Yamcha's sentence for him. He let out a high pitched laugh. Not an evil laugh, but rather a friendly, playful laugh.   
"Do you know this monster?" asked Aragorn.   
"Yes", replied Yamcha. "He'll be fine as long as we don't upset him. Humour him at all times and we'll be safe".   
They all started laughing along with Buu, grinning at him, though they were unsure as to why they were laughing.   
"How did you get back?" asked Yamcha. "I thought you were dead."   
"Buu _wished_ back," replied the gelatinous blob.   
"Oh," said Yamcha, confused. He could not remember anyone wishing Buu back.   
"You want play with Buu?" asked Buu.   
"Sure," said Yamcha, and he shrugged his shoulders.   
"Good. You come to Buu's home. We play game."   
Aragorn walked alongside Yamcha as they approached Buu's house. "Why does he refer to himself in the third person?" he asked.   
"Leave him be. You're a hundred times more pretentious than him," Yamcha replied.   
They were at Buu's house now and Buu told them to wait outside. "Buu go get playmate!" he smiled. They looked confused as he went into his eclectic house. 'What does he mean by playmate?' they all wondered. A moment later he returned with a large, funny looking man. He had a black moustache and an afro and wore a very worried look on his face. "Buu have new friends, you say hello to Buu's friends now!"   
"He…hello!" waved the man.   
"Hercule!" shouted Yamcha, surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?"   
Hercule ran over to Yamcha and spoke quietly to him. "I thought he was dead but he wasn't. He found me one day and flew me back here, he wouldn't take no for an answer, you gotta rescue me, please!!"   
Yamcha was becoming more confused by the minute. Hercule and Buu living together? They were like the original Odd Couple!   
"I say we rescue him," said Boromir, and he drew his sword as he stared Buu right in the eyes.   
"NO!" shouted Yamcha, putting Boromir's sword away. Don't try anything! He's stronger than all of us combined!"   
Boromir unwillingly tucked his sword away and did not look happy. It was time to ask for help now as they had a task to complete. Yamcha approached Buu carefully. "We're looking for a dragonball Buu," he told the pink marshmallow.   
"Dra…gon…ball?" asked Buu, sounding confused.   
"Yes, it's a small orange object with one or more stars in it."   
"Oh! Buu be right back!" he grinned, and went once more into his house.   
"Ta da!" he exclaimed as he rejoined them, dragonball in hand. The company was overjoyed to have found it. They did not realise how difficult it would be to obtain though.   
"Alright!" shouted Yamcha, jumping for joy. His mission was complete. "Can we have it Buu?"   
"No, Buu want shiny toy for Buu!" answered the pink um…thing. He started to walk away, then shouted his name before dancing off around the house.   
Yamcha joined the others to see if they had any ideas. None of them could think of anything that would work. Hercule refused to help them as he was terrified of Buu, though he claimed it was because he didn't like to interfere in the affairs of others and the task was too simple for him, being the World martial arts champion.   
"Me, help you? Get the dragonball?" he said, mockingly. "Oh no! That's much too easy for the likes of me. I wouldn't demean myself by trying!" Translated, this meant 'Please don't anger Buu. Please! I don't want to die and he'll kill us all if you try to take his toy!' Sweat trickled down his forehead as he attempted a smile to cover his fear. By this time, Buu had circled the house and stood before them once more. He saw their faces and frowned.   
"Buu no give shiny toy!" he said, once more.   
"That's it!" exclaimed Boromir. "We need action!"   
Still hungry for battle, he drew his sword again and aimed it at Buu.   
"NO!" shouted Yamcha. "He's far too powerful!"   
Boromir ignored him.   
"Boromir, put your sword away!" begged Aragorn, but the hero wasn't listening. He plunged his sword deep into Buu and watched as it sunk into the globular mound.   
"Hehe. That tickles!" said Buu.   
Boromir pulled his sword out and sliced Buu in many places. Buu started to get angry. With a huge burst of energy, he blew Boromir twenty feet away from him. Aragorn ran to his aid, but stopped as he saw Buu approaching them both.   
"Buu make mean man go bye bye!" he said, sounding very cross.   
"Don't do it!" screamed Aragorn as he held Anduril against Buu.   
"Turn into chocolate!" said Buu, and a beam flew from his antenna-like head. It struck Boromir who managed to let out one last scream before being changed permanently. Aragorn looked on in disbelief as Buu picked up the bar of chocolate that used to be Boromir and ate it.   
"Yum! Mean man taste very yummy!" said Buu as if to mock Aragorn, though he was too naïve to actually be mocking him.   
"Alas," said Aragorn quietly. "We have lost a brave and valiant soldier, nay but a man. He died in battle but he shall not die in vain. As long as it is under siege, I swear to do all I can to defend Minas Tirith and his honour!"   
He swung Anduril at Buu with such rage as was thought unimaginable in the soul of a king. Buu looked confused and was thrown back by the force. Aragorn had but the strength of a man, but Anduril was made of stronger things.   
"Don't do it!" advised Yamcha. "You'll only get yourself killed too!"   
He was being foolish, but it was understandable why he was so angry. Buu stood back up and said "Big power!" This was his strongest attack, and no one person stood a chance against it.   
"No!" came Hercule suddenly. "Remember Buu, to kill is a bad thing!"   
Buu stopped the attack and looked round at his playmate. "But mean man make Buu sore," he said.   
"Um..he was just playing Buu. Yeah, that's right…playing. Hahaha. He's trying to be your friend!"   
"Oooohhhhh!" said Buu, apparently having been fooled by Hercule's lie.   
"You want be Buu's friend?" he asked Aragorn.   
Yamcha, Legolas and Gimli all nodded at him. Aragorn was proud, but not foolish. He had no choice but to agree and he too nodded.   
"Now Buu has lots of friends!" smiled the creature and he started skipping with his arms behind his back.   
"I know that was hard, but we have to humour him," said Yamcha.   
Aragorn turned and faced him with a stern look. "He was one of the bravest men I ever knew," he said.   
"I know, but we have to stay focussed on the mission", said Yamcha. "Besides, if we get all the dragonballs, we can wish Boromir back."   
"Is that possible?" asked Aragorn, suddenly interested.   
"Of course, so help me get the dragonball off Buu, will you?"   
"Of course."   
Though still angry at Buu, Aragorn had cheered up considerably and was now in a state to focus on the task at hand. It was then that an opportunity arose to obtain the dragonball as Buu made an important announcement: "Chocolate make Buu sleepy. Buu go sleep."   
He went into the house and from the moment he lay in his bed, loud snoring could be heard. The dragonball had been left outside on the ground, vulnerable and ready to be stolen. Yamcha knew this could be their only chance. 'Carpe diem' to told himself and grabbed the ball. Hercule's eyes almost burst out of their sockets.   
"What are you doing???" he asked, sounding very scared.   
"We're taking the dragonball. See ya later Hercule."   
"No, you can't do that! Buu will go mad! He'll kill us all!"   
Yamcha laughed out loud. "Buu's asleep and probably will be for ages. We'll have plenty of time to escape."   
"No you don't understand…" Hercule did his best to warn Yamcha but he was interrupted by a loud yawn. Buu stretched his flabby arms and put his clothes back on.   
"He only sleeps for a few seconds at a time," finished Hercule. "Please put back his toy. I don't want to die!"   
Buu could be heard talking to himself from inside the house. "Ahh! Nice new day, Buu all fresh and relaxed and ready to plaaaay!"   
Yamcha's eyes mimicked Hercules. "RUN!" he screamed.   
With their knees up to their chins, Yamcha, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli ran faster than they ever had before. Even Gimli with his short, stumpy dwarf legs managed to keep up with the quick and agile Legolas. They did not look back once and they did not stop for breath. Yamcha knew that once Buu found out they had stolen his toy, it would only be a matter of seconds before he caught up with them and by that time they would need to be deep into the forest to remain hidden from him.

Buu opened the door and stepped outside with a smile on his face. He looked at his playmate, the People's champion, who was biting his nails and shaking from head to toe. Upon making eye contact with Buu he bolted off into the horizon leaving a trail of dust behind. Buu looked around and wondered where everyone had gone. "Where Buu's friends?" he asked himself in a voice that would have earned him a successful Tellitubby audition. Quickly a new thought entered his head. "Where Buu's toy?" he asked. It wasn't on the ground where he had left it. It wasn't in the house or he would have seen it when he got out of bed. At that very moment, a neuron fell into place in Buu's brain and allowed him to process a single thought. He put two and two together and for the first time ever, made four. "Friends steal Buu's toy?" he asked. A sudden rage rose through his body and his jelly-like arms wobbled before rippling violently. His face went a dark shade of red and steam came gushing from all his pores at once. "FRIENDS STEAL BUU'S TOY!!!!!!!!" This time it was a statement, not a question, and the whole of Middle Earth could hear it.

"That didn't sound good," said Aragorn, stating the obvious. The four had reached the forest now and were aware from the high pitched scream that Buu had discovered his toy was missing.   
"Don't worry. He won't find us in here," said Yamcha, trying to calm them down. He didn't anticipate what would happen next though. A dark shadow covered the area of forest they were running in, forcing them to look up. They could see Buu, though he couldn't see them. Yamcha didn't expect the monster to have this kind of intelligence, but here he was hovering high above the forest ready to flush them out. A large ball of energy was growing in his hands as the grin on his face grew with it. "Big Power" Buu said to himself as he threw the ball down. Yamcha and co dived for the bushes as the blast landed, throwing them several feet into the air, then landing them on the hard ground. They were too weak to run, but the area of forest they were in had now been mostly exposed and they were aware that Buu could most likely see them. And then their suspicions were confirmed.   
"I see you!" said Buu and he powered up another energy blast.   
"Stop!" shouted Yamcha. "We'll give you the dragonball!" He realised he had no other choice. Buu raised the part of his face where an eyebrow would normally be and started to descend slowly, floating down towards the thieves.   
"Where Buu's toy?" Buu asked when he was five feet above them. Yamcha reluctantly took out the ball and held it out. But just as he was about to hand it over, the ground shook slightly. He withdrew his hand and listened. A new noise could be heard now; a terrible, destructive one that seemed to ripple out through the forest and cause the very roots of the trees to tremble. Buu forgot about his toy for the moment and looked for the source. Then the shadow came. It filled the entire forest and blocked out the sun. Something was coming their way. At first they could see the tusks; giant and shiny, reflecting the light of the sun away from them. They ripped the trees and broke them in two as both the terrible legs, thick as an old oak tree, powerful as a herd of rhinos, crashed down upon the ground next to them. Gimli, being the smallest, strained his neck to see the creature's head. He could make out a large snout and two much larger ears. It looked very peculiar, but also tremendously powerful, as it smashed its way through the forest. None of the company could tell you what it was, but it was in fact an Oliphaunt. These were fabled creatures that some believed existed and some didn't. Aragorn didn't despite the fact he was seeing one now. He didn't pay close attention to the details of the beast and hence could not have figured out its nomenclature. To this day he will tell the story of how he saw the most terrific beast in the forest to the west of Middle Earth, only to follow it with the fact that he does not believe in Oliphaunts. Of course it is obvious why it was making its way towards them now. It was angry at being wakened by Buu and when it saw the destruction of a large section of forest, this only heightened its rage. He cared no more for the damage he would do to his home as long as the culprit was taught a lesson. They all ducked and scrambled for cover as the Oliphaunt picked up Buu and crushed him in his giant hand. A loud high-pitched scream was heard by Yamcha and the others. He told them to run once more and run they did having got their breath back. They did not witness the assault on Buu, not wishing to look back, as they made their way through the forest once more. Finally, the other end could be seen and light shone on them again. Running had made the journey go faster and it only took them forty minutes. The helicopter was where they had left it and they climbed in. Yamcha started the engines as explosions went off in the distance. The chopper took to the sky and made its way back to Dende's land.   
"What is this thing again?" asked Legolas, and a loud scream was heard; the last for a while and the last words of the journey back as they sat in silence, their mission complete and in possession of the last dragonball.

So the last dragonball has been found, but our heroes still have a long way to go. They now only control ine of the seven dragonballs, but will it be enough? And what of Boromir? See how he fares in chapter ten where he meets an unexpected friend


	10. Chapter10: Other World

****

Chapter 10: Other World

Boromir awoke in a strange place he had never been before. The coloured skies, floating bridges and clouds beneath him all made him think he was in a dream, but somehow he knew this was reality. The last thing he could remember was being hit by a beam of energy, but that seemed only a second ago. As the beam engulfed him, everything had turned white and he had closed his eyes from the strength of the light. It didn't help though. The bright light forced its way into his eyes anyway. When it had finally faded, he found himself in this place. His first assumption was that he was dead. This of course was correct to an extent. Yes, he was now dead, but this was not the afterlife he had expected. The building he stood in was sheltered, though from what he could not tell. There was no trace of weather or even of temperature, and no savage beast could be seen anywhere. Even if there were any, they could easily enter through the doors since they were uncovered. This place was very illogical, yet had some kind of a structure to it that Boromir had a feeling he would discover with time. A long line of small white fluffy cloud-like creatures walked (for want of a better mode of transport) beside him in single file towards a giant desk, behind which sat a larger, red bearded man with an Attila the Hun type hat and many books. Boromir picked one of the cloud beings up. It shook and seemed to be panicking in his hands. He dropped it, startled, and it rejoined the queue. So many questions arose in his mind and he had trouble prioritising them. One stuck out as being of vital importance though. That was the obvious question: 'What is this place?' But who to ask? Were these people friendly? More questions were now forming from the ones he had already thought of, but there was no need to worry about that now for someone was approaching him. This person had blue skin and a small moustache. He wore glasses and two devil-like horns extruded from the top of his head, surrounded by thick black hair. He was skinny and looked nervous. He was clothed in a sleeveless shirt, tie and trousers. The top button of his shirt was undone and sweat seemed to be running down his face in small trickles as he breathed heavily, walking towards Boromir.   
"Are you Boromir, son of Denethor, of the Realm of Gondor?" he asked.   
"Yes," Boromir replied.   
"Come with me," said the man. "King Yemma wants to see you."   
Looking for answers, Boromir followed him. The fluffy cloud beings looked up at him. Some seemed angry, some looked confused. They stepped back as Boromir reached the front of the line and appeared to be talking silently amongst themselves. King Yemma looked down from his fifteen-foot tall desk and lowered his glasses. "Boromir," he said in a deep voice. "It's not everyday we get someone as noble as you up here."   
"Where is here?" asked Boromir, confused, but happy that his number one question would now be answered.   
"Oh yes," said Yemma. "I always forget that newcomers and first timers don't know what's going on when they arrive here. Comes from being king of the Other World too long," he smiled. For a demon he hadn't looked too threatening to start with and he was looking friendlier by the minute.   
"I suppose to you, this would be like the afterlife," he continued. "Right now you're in what you would call Heaven."   
Boromir looked in awe. He had so many questions but could not speak. Luckily for him, King Yemma anticipated the questions and answered them for him.   
"I guess you've figured out by now that you're dead," he said, unsympathetically. Millennia of thousands of billions of souls passing through his office had shattered his compassion.   
"Those white things behind you are souls of the dead," he continued. "The reason you aren't one of them is because we let you keep your body. We only do that for the brave and worthy, such as you are Boromir."   
Although flattered, Boromir still had questions that needed answered.   
"How did I die?" he asked. This didn't really _need_ answering as it had no relevance and didn't affect anything now, but human curiosity forced him to ask it anyway.   
"A creature called Buu um…how do I put this?" He thought of a way to sugar-coat the response. "He turned you into a bar of chocolate and ate you." You can't get more sugar-coated than chocolate I suppose.   
"I never thought I'd die like that," Boromir said, looking puzzled. "What can I do now?"   
"Relax," replied Yemma. "You're dead. The affairs of Minas Tirith are no longer your concern."   
"But I want to help my people!" insisted Boromir.   
"I know," replied Yemma, "But that will change with time. Soon you will worry no longer about the matters of the living. It just takes a bit of getting used to."   
"And what about the affairs of the dead?" asked Boromir.   
"I was hoping you'd ask that. I have a task for you." Boromir smiled at the mention of a task. He was not one to sit down and take retirement lightly.   
"But you will not go on this task alone," continued the King. "Someone you already know will be going on it with you." He pointed far back into the line and Boromir could see a figure amongst the shapes of the small fluffy souls. He was too far back for anyone to tell who it was but from the silhouette Boromir had a good idea.

Gohan awoke with the effects of a mild hangover. He knew he hadn't been drinking though so it had to be something similar. He didn't know what it felt like to die until now but it was a feeling he would never forget. It wasn't till he saw his surroundings that he knew where he was and after taking a moment for the reality of the situation to sink in, he screamed "I'm dead!" and breathed convulsively. Although he had never actually visited Other World, he had heard a lot about it and had a very clear picture in his head of what it would look like should he ever end up there. Also, he had seen Supreme Kai's planet and that was supposedly similar. When his eyes had fully recovered from the shock of what they had seen, Gohan found himself in a line of souls waiting anxiously to be told whether they were staying in Heaven or going to the HFIL. 'I'm not going to the HFIL am I?' Gohan asked himself, but then he looked down and saw he still had his body. He threw up his arms and rejoiced; it was a great honour to be allowed to keep your body and he had hoped that should he ever die the honour would be bestowed upon him. He looked to the front of the line, which was at least half a mile away, and felt certain he could see someone pointing at him. "That must be King Yemma!" he said excitedly. "Outta my way!" he shouted as he pushed his way through the lost souls. Had they been allowed to keep their voices, they would all now be screaming obscenities at the young Saiyan, but lucky for him, they hadn't. He ran to the front of the queue and waved. "Hey King Yemma!" he said.   
"Hiya Gohan," replied the King. "We've been waiting for you."   
"You have? You mean you knew I was going to die?"   
"Well, it's part of my job to know these things."   
"Okay. Thanks for letting me keep my body by the way."   
"No problem. You're Goku's son. You deserve it."   
"So how did I die? I don't remember it happening."   
"Well, you had been knocked out by one of the Nazgul in a battle on Dende's lookout point. While the others were fighting, another of the Nazgul stabbed you. They have poisoned swords Gohan and the poison was too much even for a saiyan to handle. Everyone else was knocked unconscious eventually and noone was left to help you I'm afraid."   
"What about the others?"   
"They'll be fine."   
"And the dragonballs?"   
"The Nazgul got them, but there's nothing you can do now. Just enjoy the afterlife."   
Gohan looked disappointed. "Gee, I'd really like to help them. Isn't there some way I can talk to my dad?"   
"Well," King Yemma said reluctantly, "You could do that, but you'd have to communicate through North Kai and…"   
"…yeah, I know what he's like," interrupted Gohan, finishing King Yemma's sentence.   
"He's been seeing a therapist about cutting down on his jokes Gohan."   
"I'll think about it. Even without the jokes he's an annoying little $%*&$."   
It was then that Yemma remembered Boromir had been standing beside them, listening to their mindless banter. "Gohan, you remember Boromir, don't you?"   
Gohan looked round and suddenly recognised the man. "Oh yeah! We met in Moria, right?"   
"Yes," replied Boromir, shaking his hand. "You fought the Balrog."   
"Well, I'm glad you two are such good friends," interrupted Yemma. "I have a task for you both."   
They listened carefully. Gohan and Boromir both enjoyed tasks and even if it was a small meaningless one, it beat standing around doing nothing for all eternity. "What is it?" they both asked at once.   
"There's trouble in the HFIL again. Cell, Friesa, the Ginyu force and Dabura have taken over the place and are trying to find a way to get up here. Can you two stop them?"   
"Sure," replied Gohan. He liked the idea about getting to kick his former enemies asses again.   
"I'll go too," said Boromir. He didn't know what he was up against but he figured anything that didn't kill him would only make him stronger and nothing could possibly kill him now.   
"Great," said Yemma, looking very pleased. "You can go whenever you want! Just tell me when you're ready and I'll arrange for you to be transported."   
"I'm ready if you are," Gohan told Boromir.   
"I'm ready," Boromir replied.   
King Yemma got on his phone and pressed a button. "Two for tube transport to the HFIL," he said.

They arrived almost instantly and took a look around. The HFIL was nothing like Gohan had expected it to be. His father had never really spoken of it to him but where he had imagined a barren wasteland, there was a lush green, blue, yellow and red environment. The sky of course was yellow, just as it was everywhere else in Other World. He pressed his foot down on the blue grass and felt it bounce him back up with a greater force than he had exerted. Apparently the laws of physics meant nothing in this place. There were countless trees of many colours, though each individual tree contained only one colour, trunk included. The closer they moved to the trees, however, the further away they seemed to be. Neither of the pair took notice of this as they were busy trying to figure out what the chemical constituents of the air were at the same time as keeping an eye out for Cell's gang. The air was light and swirled playfully in their lungs creating a pleasant, though strange sensation. For better or worse though, they both preferred it to Earth's air.   
Every now and then a lost soul would go bouncing or skipping past them, taking no notice of the human and Saiyan. A new arrival would have been jealous at the sight of two bodies walking around the HFIL and afterwards would have started to miss his/her own body, but most of the souls here had been in the HFIL too long to care anymore. They didn't hate the place or even dislike it, but boredom was a daily occurrence for them. Not many people in the HFIL had bodies. Only those who worked there, extra strong or important losers or those who had fallen off Snake Way by accident as Goku had once done. This pleased Gohan though as it made spotting his ex-nemesis easier. As he thought this, something unexpected came into view. It was small, yellow and wrinkled and looked both worried and angry at once as Gohan and Boromir approached it.   
"Ahhh! What are you doing here?" it asked in a panicked voice.   
Gohan couldn't believe his eyes. "Babidi?" he asked. King Yemma had not mentioned Babidi along with the other members of the gang.   
"Wh-what are y-you doing here?" Babidi asked him.   
"I've been sent here to stop Cell's gang from taking over the HFIL," he replied, noticing a smile on Babidi's face when he had finished.   
"Really?" asked the peanut impersonator. "That's great! They've been hunting me down for months!"   
Gohan looked confused as he heard this. "Isn't Dabura in their gang?" he asked.   
"Yes. That's the reason they want me outta here," replied Babidi. "Dabura and I haven't been on good terms since I had Buu turn him into a cookie and eat him."   
At the mention of Buu's name Boromir drew his sword and felt a furious anger rise suddenly inside of him. "So _you_ are the one responsible for Buu then!" he exclaimed.   
"No no, wait, I can explain!" pleaded Babidi. The sword was close to his face and looked very sharp. Boromir wasn't interested in any excuse he had to offer though. He sliced his sword through the small wizard, who fell in two pieces to the ground.   
"Your Buu monster is the reason I'm here!" shouted Boromir. Babidi clawed his hands along the ground.   
"I regret any damage Buu has done," he struggled to say. "I swear to you I'm a reformed wizard!"   
Gohan stood over the two halves of the body showing no sympathy towards him. "I think we should leave him here, helpless, for Dabura to find, don't you?" he asked Boromir. Babidi looked extremely worried now.   
"I think we should find Dabura and deliver this thing to him personally," Boromir replied.   
"NO!" screamed Babidi. "I can help you!"   
"Why should we believe you?" asked Gohan.   
"Because I am at your mercy. I'm helpless and desperate."   
Gohan wasn't buying it. He had a deep-rooted hatred for the peanut and had no desire to help him ever.   
"How can you help us?" asked Boromir. Gohan's head turned in disbelief as his friend asked the question. He couldn't believe Boromir would even consider taking Babidi up on his offer.   
"I can take you to Cell's lair and tell you how to defeat him and his gang," Babidi told them. "I've been there before and know how to escape. I've also seen them all and studied their weaknesses."   
Gohan gave the man of Gondor a stern look. "Don't even think about it," he said quietly, in an angry voice.   
"I don't have to," said Boromir. "I've already decided to take him. We have a mission to complete and cannot let personal feelings cloud out judgement. If this thing can help us, I say we let him."   
"He will betray us just like he betrayed the world! shouted Gohan.   
"Well let it be on my head then," replied Boromir.   
"Fine," said Gohan, "but you're carrying him."   
Boromir picked up the bottom half of Babidi's body and tied it to his trousers. He put the top half of Babidi on his shoulders and let him hang on. Although he was a powerful wizard, he couldn't use his magic while his body was separated and only Buu could heal him as far as he knew. Little did he know, however, was that once the Saiyan and the human had finished with Cell's gang, the human would leave him there to be found once the gang recovered, to do with him as they pleased. King Yemma had told Boromir that soon he would forget his past life and move on, but he wasn't ready to do so yet and revenge was his top priority at the moment.

After several hours of walking, Babidi told them to stop. "We're here!" he announced to a bewildered Gohan and Boromir who were not sure what 'here' was. The landscape looked the same as the rest of the HFIL and where they had been expecting a tower or a large building or a cave, or anything headquarters-like, they could see nothing but…nothing! Boromir bit down on his lower lip. "Is this some kind of trick?" he asked, counting to ten inside his head.   
"No, no trick!" replied Babidi nervously. "The headquarters is here! I swear!"   
Gohan jerked his neck muscles, causing the legless Babidi to lose his grip and fall. "Ow!" he said. "What did you do that for?" He shook his fist at Gohan and proceeded to bite his own lip.   
"Boromir can carry you again," replied the saiyan. "It's his turn".   
Babidi counted to ten and tried to conceal his anger, but to no avail. "He doesn't need to carry me you fool! We're here, can't you see that?"   
"Fine by me," said Boromir. "We'll leave you here to be found by your enemies".   
"No no wait!" Babidi cried, realising his mistake. "I didn't mean that, I mean…will you carry me?"   
"First tell us where the headquarters is," Gohan insisted.   
"It's right here. It's just…camouflaged".   
"So how do we know where it is then?"   
Fifty feet away a door opened out of nowhere and a small, fat, green thing with four eyes stepped out. "Man, I'm fed up being sent to do menial tasks!" the alien complained. "I'm just as strong as any of them!"   
"That's…"   
"Yes, I know. That's Guldo," cut in Gohan, interrupting his new 'friend'. Before they could say or do anything, though, Guldo spotted them and jumped. "Jeice! Jeice!" he screamed, running back into the still open door. "Babidi's back and he's got company!"   
"Just kill the little runt!" came a muffled Australian voice from out of nowhere.   
"Um…yeah…kill them," Guldo looked extremely scared. "Um…how do I do that exactly?"   
A sigh was heard and a long, white haired man of average height with a red complexion joined Guldo. At first he gave a pathetic look, then he turned to see Babidi with two strong looking men, one of who looked very familiar. It wasn't so much the man's physical appearance as his power that scared Jeice. He had felt this power before, only it had been weaker at the time. "Do I know you?" he asked.   
"I'm Gohan," replied Gohan. "And yes, you do know me."   
'Gohan…Gohan' Jeice wracked his brain trying to figure out the name. Finally an association came with the memory of Goku. "You're Goku's son, right?" he asked.   
"That's right," replied a narrow-eyes Gohan with very low eyebrows.   
"Burter! Recoombe!" Jeice shouted, calling for backup. "We're gonna need you guys here!"   
The two ran immediately to their leader's side. It had been decided shortly after Captain Ginyu's transformation into a frog that Jeice should take command. This was partly because Recoombe was too stupid, Guldo was too weak and Jeice beat Burter in a best-of-three game of Roshambo. Upon seeing Gohan they laughed whole-heartedly. Upon sensing his power, they shook and sweated whole-heartedly. "it's…it's…"   
"It's me," said Gohan, paraphrasing to complete their sentence. "I'm the new sheriff in town and This here's my deputy. We've been sent to clean up this ghost-town."   
"I take it you're gonna wanna fight us then?" asked Jeice. He was fairly sure of the answer but felt he had to ask anyway on the off chance that he was wrong. The answer was not to his liking.   
"That's right," answered Gohan. "In your own time."   
The Ginyu force huddled to discussed tactics. "What d'ya say guys? Roshambo to see who dies…I mean fights first?"   
"Why don't we send Guldo out?" asked Recoombe, having his first ever good idea.   
"Motion subject to board approval," said Jeice, trying to sound professional. All for say 'I'".   
He looked up to three very blank faces. "Just say 'I'!" he demanded, rolling his eyes.   
"I" they all shouted in unison; even Guldo.   
"Motion passed!" Jeice announced. Guldo, get out there and kick their asses!   
"M…me?" asked the frogman.   
"Yes, you! You're always saying how you're just as strong as the rest of us!"   
"Yeah, well…"   
Jeice kicked him forward mid-sentence. He landed in front of Boromir.   
"Don't worry!" shouted his leader. "He can't kill you! You're already dead."   
This didn't help to calm Guldo's nerves any. He looked up at Boromir who was three times his height and let out a quiet, high-pitched squeal. Boromir drew his sword and kicked Guldo into the air. With a mighty swing, he proceeded to bat him miles over the brightly coloured mountains, watching as he grew smaller, disappearing from sight.   
"Nicely done," said Gohan without turning.   
"Yeah! Nicely done indeed!" cried Babidi. It would take more than an enthusiastic congratulations to win Boromir over though.   
"Next!" shouted the son of the steward of Gondor.

Jeice had been expecting Guldo to fail but more importantly, he had been hoping for it. Guldo was too weak to be in the Ginyu Force and only by showing him this would he ever get the message and leave for good. They had tried killing him, but soon discovered you can't kill someone who's already dead. Also, they couldn't attack him themselves, as it wouldn't do any good. Guldo already knew deep down inside he was the weakest member of the Ginyu Force. If they attacked him it wouldn't change his opinion of his own strength. Therefore, he had to be defeated by a third party, and Boromir had finally done that. For this Jeice was eternally grateful, but since the two meddlers had brought Babidi back, their deed had already been cancelled out. The Ginyu Force owed them nothing now and it was time to dispose of the cretins. Burter and Recoombe were up and they wasted no time preparing for battle. This was their first proper fight in years and they couldn't wait to see their opponents go flying off into the distance. This is not what happened though. With a swing of Gohan's fist and a swipe of Boromir's sword, _they_ were sent flying into the distance, realising the irony of the situation before they landed. Jeice was shocked but he did not show it. Realising Guldo's loss had not been a fluke, he decided it was best to avoid fighting them himself.   
"um…what did you guys say you wanted again?" he managed to say after moments of not being able to think up something better to ask them.   
"We want to defeat you and your gang," replied Gohan. He added "And so far we're doing a pretty good job!"   
"Yeah, great job!" shouted Jeice back to them. He was in quite a dilemma now. He couldn't attack them or he'd end up like his friends. It was more the prospect of being back with Guldo than the fear of getting his ass kicked that motivated the rejection of this thought. But on the other hand, he couldn't leave them or they would attack the headquarters and Cell would kick his ass, which was probably much worse. There was a third option though, and that was to let Friesa attack them. Jeice was nowhere near as strong as Friesa but in a twist of fate, had been placed higher up in the chain of command than him. Of course Friesa did not like being below his former lackey, but it was preferable to arguing with Cell.   
"FFFFFFFFFRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" screamed Jeice. Moments later, the small pink/white androgen from far off in the galaxy entered the scene.   
"Stop shouting!" came a familiar voice from inside the invisible building, making Gohan's eyebrow rise.   
Friesa hadn't aged a day since Gohan had last seen him…literally! Time has no meaning in Other World and this allowed Friesa to keep his body eternally youthful, which was the only thing stopping him from being depressed in the HFIL. He did not look happy though as he joined the person who used to call him Boss.   
"Yes Jeice?" he asked, his head hunched into his shoulders.   
"That's yes Sir!" corrected Jeice, enjoying the respect he had finally been allowed to enforce. "Or yes Sir Jeice, Master of all, if you prefer," he added with a grin.   
"Yes Sir," hissed Friesa. "What do you wish of me?"   
"I wish for you to kick these guys' asses!"   
Then Friesa noticed the other men. His eyes widened to an abnormal extent as he realised who one of them was. Like the Ginyu Force, he did not recognise the young Saiyan from his physical appearance. This would not be likely as he hadn't seen Gohan for almost twelve years. But his power was unmistakable, stronger than before yet still recognisable.   
"Hello Friesa," he said through gritted teeth. Gohan had never forgotten what Friesa had done to his friends back on Namek. Especially Krillan. He could never forget that nor forgive Friesa for his actions.   
"Y…y…you want me to fight _them_?" Friesa asked Jeice.   
"Yes. Get to it!" his new boss demanded.   
"The…monkey?"   
He took a few hesitant steps forward. Gohan did likewise, intimidating his former nemesis further. Looking back to the past on Namek, Friesa remembered Gohan. He was young at the time but somehow he had managed to put up a fight and survive. This was no small feat. A shred of his former arrogance remained, however, that allowed him to feel confident enough to take the 'monkey' down. With a slight smile, he threw his arm back and returned it with a purple disk. This was his most deadly attack. The disks were able to home in on their targets and would not stop until they had completed their task. They were once also Friesa's downfall. Gohan stood perfectly still and allowed the disk to hit him. It struggled to cut through his tough Saiyan skin before giving up and disintegrating. Gohan remained still. Friesa's eyes grew to three times their normal size.   
"Something wrong?" asked Gohan, moving only his lips.   
After recovering from the shock, Friesa was mad. He sent out a rapid burst of purple energy beams, all of which Gohan deflected with such speed and accuracy that Friesa had to jump to dodge them on the rebound. His anger was terrific now and he charged Gohan full force. The Saiyan watched as the looming figure of Friesa grew. It wasn't until the two were separated by an inch that he grabbed his tail and swung him in the air. He did this until he was bored of it before letting go. Friesa went flying into the distance.

Meanwhile Burter and Recoombe were sitting by a rock with Guldo, recovering from their short-lived battles.   
"Man, I can't believe he defeated us all!" said Guldo in his Danny Devito type voice.   
"I know what you mean," Recoombe concurred in his Arnold Schwarzennager type voice.   
"What's that in the sky?" asked Burter, and they all looked up. A shadow covered the spot they were sitting in as Friesa, their former mentor, landed on them.   
"Wow! He's really accurate!" exclaimed Guldo, sounding like he was in a great amount of pain. "I just wish I hadn't been made to go first though. I've had all three of you land on me now."   
"Shut up," said Friesa, and climbed off them.

The two team-mates now stood facing Jeice, their eyes asking him what he was going to do.   
"Um…if anyone asks, you guys kicked my asses!" he said, and flew off in the direction his friends had been thrown.   
"Saves us the trouble," joked Gohan.   
Boromir put Babidi down and sheathed his sword. "What now?" he asked.   
"Now we go inside and have some _real_ fun," Gohan answered. They made their way to the door that seemed to lead into nowhere.   
"Hey, what about me?" asked Babidi.   
Gohan and Boromir looked at each other. "Do we need him anymore?" asked Boromir.   
"I don't think so," replied the Saiyan.   
"Then I'll leave him here. When the others return they'll know what to do with him."   
"NOOOO!! You can't do that! I helped you!"   
Boromir looked at him with a serious expression on his face. "You also indirectly killed me," he said.   
Babidi thought about this and accepted his fate, realising nothing he could say would change the man's mind. He began his long journey, clawing his way across the sand that covered the area to escape before he was discovered.

The first thing they heard after going through the door was a familiar voice. This was followed by another familiar voice and then again by a third familiar voice. The first was Cell's. The second voice was Dabura's and the third was Chris Tarrant's. Gohan floated down the long, narrow corridor and poked his head around the door of the sitting room where Dabura and Cell were watching 'Who wants to be a millionaire?'   
"What are they doing?" whispered Boromir from the other side of the corridor.   
"Shush!" replied Gohan. "The guy's on £64,000."   
He watched in secret, trying to hear past the noise of the two dead villains munching popcorn.   
"Here is your next question," said the TV. "Take your time, it's worth £128,000."   
The eating stopped and Cell's eyes were glued to the screen.   
"Who, in Greek mythology, was the ruler of the underworld?"   
"Me!" declared Cell.   
"They said in Greek mythology, stupid," said Dabura, through half-shut eyes.   
"Silence! You work for _me_, remember?"   
"Is it A: Cerebrus?" asked Chris Tarrant.   
"Me!" declared Cell again.   
"B: Hades?"   
"Me!" insisted Cell.   
"C: Apollo?"   
"You!" anticipated Dabura, sarcastically.   
"Or D: Athena?"   
"What???" shouted Cell in despair. "_I'm _the ruler of the Underworld!"   
"They don't mean this Underworld," explained Dabura.   
"This is the only Underworld there is!" shouted Cell.   
Suddenly a voice came from down the corridor. "Psst…What's the answer?" it asked.   
"I think it's Hades," whispered Gohan back.   
"Oh," whispered Boromir, despite Gohan's waves to indicate he should keep quiet. "I thought it was Mordred."   
"No, don't do that…" Dabura tried desperately to make a final plea with Cell, but it was no good. He had blasted the television irreparably.   
"I don't want any appliance in this hideout that claims I am not the ruler of the Underworld!" explained Cell, and walked out the room. Gohan zanzookened back to the front door and yanked Boromir out.   
"It's your turn to do the dishes, remember?" they heard Dabura say.   
"You do them," replied Cell. "I have a headache."   
"Get the Ginyu Force to do them!" shouted Dabura.   
"Good idea. Where are they anyway?"   
What followed was a series of thuds, smashes, clumps and annoyed grunts as the two searched the place for the Ginyu Force.   
"No sign of Friesa either," said Dabura after their search had proved fruitless.   
"Let's go look for them," Cell suggested, and they left the invisible building.   
Gohan and Boromir were hiding round the side of the Headquarters, pondering the strange sensation of being pressed up against something they could not see. They watched as Cell and Dabura exited through the door and closed it shut.   
"Do you have the keys?" one of them asked.   
"Yes," replied the other.   
A button was pressed and suddenly the sensation Gohan and Boromir felt was interrupted as the building became visible. Now they could realise the real reason why it had been made invisible in the first place: The outer wall was covered in layers of graffiti, all containing messages of anti-villain propaganda. Slogans like "Shut down the androids!" and "No repeats of Namek!" had been sprayed on top of more slogans like "Androgyny sucks!" and the extremely original (yet seemingly popular) "Die villains!" which, apart from being politically incorrect, was impossible since they were already dead. Not one inch of the wall was without its share of graffiti, and when the protestors had run out of space, they had apparently sprayed their new slogans on top of the old ones. The villains had realised it would be too much work cleaning it all off, and pointless as the vandals would just come back and do it again anyway (and they always seemed to go unnoticed), so they somehow made a control switch that allowed the building to be made invisible. It worked because if anyone had sprayed anything on the building after it had been made invisible, the slogan would have appeared to be sitting stationary in mid-air. This wasn't the case so Cell assumed his enemies had assumed that the building had been moved. He enjoyed the thought of them searching through the HFIL for its new location. Gohan and Boromir merely stared at it in disbelief.   
"What now?" asked Boromir.   
Gohan was nervous, but if his dad had taught him anything, it was how much stronger he was than he realised, and to face his fears. He had a task to complete and he was going to see that it was completed. "Now," he said, and paused before saying "we have the most epic battle of our lives."

"Guldo!" shouted Cell.   
"Burter!" shouted Dabura.   
"Where have they got to?" asked Cell.   
"I don't know," replied Dabura. Then he added, "Maybe they anticipated that we'd need a new TV."   
Cell slowly picked up on the sarcasm in the statement and got angry.   
"Maybe they ran off cause you're such an asshole!"   
"Maybe something scared them off," said Gohan, stepping out from behind the building.   
Cell looked more shocked than Guldo, Burter, Recoombe, Jeice and Friesa had all been combined. "It's you!" he said.   
Dabura looked even more shocked as Boromir joined them. "And some other guy!" he exclaimed. Then he turned back to Gohan. "Oh…OH! I see it now! It's you!" He wasn't worried. After all, Gohan had put up a good fight against him, but he hadn't defeated him. "Don't worry Cell, I'll take care of this weakling."   
"No!" said Gohan sternly. "I want to fight Cell."   
Cell hesitated and for a moment his programming told his circuits to make him shake. "Um…Dabura very kindly offered to kill you," he said. "Are you really going to be that rude in turning him down?"   
"Boromir will fight him," Gohan explained.   
Now it was Boromir's turn to shake. "Um…he is sort of right you know," he told his friend. "You _are_ being quite rude. Maybe you should fight him and I can watch."   
"Don't worry Boromir," said Gohan, his eyes still locked onto Cell's. "You can take him. I wouldn't let you fight unless I knew you could win. Besides," he added, "Saiyans don't care about etiquette."   
Dabura was disappointed at having to face a weaker opponent. If Gohan was a marginal challenge for him, Boromir would just be another fly to swat if his power level was anything to go by."   
"Let me fight the Saiyan, Cell!" demanded Dabura.   
"No," said Cell calmly. "I will fight him as he wishes." Due to an extraordinary malfunction in his programming, his courage, arrogance and blind stupidity subroutines were all loaded into his memory at once. Strangely though, they didn't overwrite his cowardice subroutines which remained in the memory and fed data to his CPU which was being told to be brave and cowardly at the same time. Eventually (in 0.00000329 milliseconds) it resolved the conflict and cleared the storage spaces being occupied by the cowardice subroutines, replacing them with a Bette Midler recording that played repeatedly through the side of Cell's head. The human part of him turned the volume off so that noone present (himself included) could hear it. After all, he wasn't a _complete_ monster. 'Why did Gero ever upload that into my memory banks?' he asked himself as he stood poised, ready for battle. 

Gohan did not waste any time. No sooner had Cell's foot touched the ground than he was charging into him, full speed. Inches from the android's head, he sensed a punch being thrown and sped up. This is what he had been expecting and Cell had fallen right into his trap. He zanzookened behind him and gave him a punch that scrambled Cell's signals for a whole second. 'Yes,' thought Gohan. 'Off to a good start'. Cell recovered and turned, hitting Gohan square in the face with a punch of his own, and immediately the Saiyan remembered just how fast the android could be. Out of anger they engaged each other in hand to hand combat until it seemed pointless. Gohan was the first to break away, and he put a fair amount of distance between him and Cell, charging up a Kamehameha as he did so. Cell took a page out of Gohan's book and charged headfirst into the blast. As soon as it had been released, he zanzookened behind Gohan and delivered a punch that bruised his spine. Gohan fell to the ground with a loud scream, but after remembering who he was fighting, landed on his feet, bounced back into the sky and swung his foot into Cell's stomach. The android gasped for breath and looked for the Saiyan who was no longer there. He soon discovered Gohan's whereabouts, however, as two clasped fists were driven hard into his head. The pointed parts of his metal skull broke and, aided by gravity, began their long journey to the ground below. Cell was not happy.   
Meanwhile, the fight between Boromir and Dabura had started, and it was very one-sided. Boromir swung his sword in perfect form at the Former ruler of the Underworld, who had the great advantage of being able to fly. He toyed with Boromir, dodging every one of his extremely slow (by Dabura's reckoning) attacks. "Is that all you've got?" asked Dabura. "This is going to be easier than I thought!" he exclaimed. Boromir did not let the mocks and taunts get to him. Instead he continued his swings, hoping that finally Dabura would slip up and one of them would hit. This went on for several minutes and, although the situation was identical to how it was before, Boromir's tactics had changed dramatically. He was no longer trying to hit Dabura, but rather to keep him amused until Gohan had defeated Cell, so that he wouldn't be attacked. The flaw in his plan of course, was that by using the same attacks all the time; Dabura soon bored of toying with him and struck him hard. Boromir fell and skidded across the ground, grasping onto his sword. "You won't be needing that anymore," laughed Dabura as he saw the man was eager to keep hold of his weapon. He put his foot slowly to the blade and easily broke it in two. Boromir watched helplessly, stunned by the fact his beloved sword had been destroyed. A deep anger rose quickly in him and he let out a loud yell. Every muscle in his body tensed up to the point where they would soon snap his bones in half, and his heart pumped twice as fast as it had seconds earlier. He felt an instinctive need to destroy this being who had taken his weapon from him, the weapon he had had since he was a young boy. The weapon he had used to defend Minas Tirith. The weapon that now lay in two pieces, with small shards of metal surrounding it, making it look weak and pathetic, and in no way a sword of honour. Boromir lifted his leg with great force and kicked Dabura hard in the balls.   
Cell spat a mixture of purple blood and capacitors, then wiped his mouth. His opponent was waiting for him to make the next move. He knew this for a fact. It was a tactic he himself employed from time to time to intimidate inferior beings. It was basically a way of saying 'I'm so good, I don't have to destroy you at the first possible chance. I'll give you a breather so you can recover and then I'll kick your ass again'. He had had his breather, and now he was ready to fight again. He threw his body towards Gohan who did likewise and they clasped hands, engaged in a test of strength. Sweat began to trickle down both their foreheads as they looked into each other eyes and gave each other a look that said 'I'm not giving up!' Cell smiled and drove his knee into Gohan's midsection. Their hands were still clasped and he used them to pull the Saiyan back and repeat the manouveur. This time he let go, but grabbed Gohan's arm as he did, and swung him till his circuits told him he was dizzy, then let go. Gohan flew through the air for fifty feet, then stopped the flight and recovered again. He was in pain though. Stuck in the HFIL with no stronger allies and no sensu beans, he could tell this was not going to be an easy battle.   
Dabura took a few steps back. His groin ached and this in turn affected his entire body. He couldn't walk straight, he couldn't think straight, his legs stumbled as he tried to slowly back off. His only option was to ignore the pain and remember to wear a cup for his next battle. Boromir slowly got to his feet and kicked Dabura hard in the stomach. There was no honour in hitting a man when he was down, but Dabura was not a man and he was infinitely stronger than Boromir. The red devil took his hands off his balls and rubbed his stomach. The kick had not been hard, but he still felt the need to protect it. He soon discovered it had been a trick though as Boromir drove his foot once more into his balls. Looking round at Gohan, he saw the Saiyan was holding his own against Cell and heaved a sigh of relief. He could now fully concentrate on his opponent without having to feel guilty about his friend.   
Coincidentally, Gohan looked to see how Boromir was doing at the exact moment the latter had averted his eyes and returned to his battle. Seeing that he was apparently coping, Gohan returned to his. They had reached the stage in the battle where usually things would start to explode. Right about…Cell put his hands by his side and created a small, yet dense, kamehameha. It was packed full of power and androidy goodness. He released it and it flew towards its target who deflected it with his hands. Redirected, it followed its new course into the clouds. The fluffy ceiling of the HFIL exploded and made a hole that tried to fill itself in by gathering other clouds around it. But not before an unfortunate farmer could fall off Snake Way and land, screaming in a small pool of water….now. Gohan didn't watch as he was too busy sending out a Masenka-ho beam. It spiralled towards Cell who dodged it easily. The two fighters put some distance between each other and, as if they were telepathically linked, sent out a series of rapid ki pulses at each other. Some hit, others missed. Amongst them, Gohan attempted his second kamehameha, carefully avoiding each of Cell's attacks till it was ready, then fired it at the android. The beam, shielded by Cell's smaller beams, pushed its way quickly towards the android, disintegrating all other forms of energy in its path, and exploded on him. Ironically, Cell's power had resulted in him receiving the first significant blow of the match. When the smoke around him cleared, he had lost an arm and a chunk of his side. He wasn't worried though. Angry, but not worried. These were only body parts, and body parts could be grown back.   
The other battle, the boring battle if you like, was slow and steady. Dabura was licking his wounds (not literally though. That would be sick. Get that image out your head!) as Boromir slowly approached him. Arrogance was not in this noble man's nature, but oftentimes he would look before he leaped. This is what he was doing now in not using all his speed, force and cunning to take advantage of Dabura's position. He realised this and charged towards Dabura, but the demon was waiting for him, and held out his hand. A small, sharp burst of energy exploded from it and Boromir was blown back. He struggled to get up, but found he was in too much pain. Dabura was now walking towards him, a wide grin on his evil face. "I'm bored of you," he told Boromir. "Time to turn you to stone." The muscles in his mouth moved back and forth as he collected enough saliva to make the spell work. He pursed his lips and spat it at his opponent. Wondering whether to take Dabura's comment about turning him to stone literally, Boromir spotted one half of his sword lying beside him. Quickly picking it up, he used it to defend himself against the spit. The blade slowly turned to stone and was returned to the ground. Boromir watched Dabura's stunned expression, then kicked him in the balls again.   
Gohan turned Super Saiyan in an instant and relieved himself of some of the pain. Cell was staggering about with one arm, looking helpless. Gohan knew it would grow back soon though unless he attacked Cell quickly. He flew towards the one armed bandit and kicked him hard. Cell blocked the kick with his one remaining arm and went to swing a punch with his other, before realising it wasn't there. He hadn't got used to only having one arm again, and this was a very dangerous situation to be in. Gohan threw a punch with his right arm, followed quickly by another with his left, mocking Cell mercilessly. The android zanzookened a short distance away, giving himself some much needed rest. Gohan sighed and let him be for a minute. Soon after, the fight resumed, Cell now complete again as his arm and side had grown back. He gave a short speech about Piccolo's regenerative cells, but Gohan shut him up, saying he'd heard it all before and that he wanted to get back to the fight. They exchanged some more blows before splitting up again. This time Gohan charged up a powerful Masenka-ho beam, while Cell prepared a special surprise for Gohan. It was one of Vegeta's attacks…the Big Bang! The powerful ball of energy grew in size until it was larger than Cell's headquarters. 'Uh oh!' thought Gohan, and released his attack, knowing he would need time to escape the Big Bang. Cell saw the Masenka-ho beam come spiralling towards him and released the energy ball before it was ready. It weakened Gohan's attack and finally stopped it in its tracks, but the Big Bang continued on its way.   
Dabura stumbled back in pain again, wondering how he could have fallen for the same cheap trick three times. He recovered faster this time and ignored the fact that his swollen testicles were about to split the seams in his underwear. He roared ferociously and swung a powerful punch at Boromir, who had no choice but to take it and fall once more with a broken jaw. 'This is the end for you mortal!' declared Dabura, and gathered an enormous amount of energy. There was no escape for Boromir in his current condition. He wondered what would happen if you were destroyed in the afterlife, then realised he was about to find out. Taking one last look at the sky, he lay down and accepted his fate. But then he took another look at the sky. Something interesting was happening. A giant ball of energy was making its way towards them. Gohan was moving out of its way and for a moment, the two partners made eye contact. They both calculated where the ball would land, and found it was heading straight for…Dabura! The energy began to glow as every ounce of strength in the demon's body worked its way to his hands. The attack was growing all the time. The ball was getting closer. Cell looked round and realised what was about to happen. 'Look out!' he screamed, but Dabura was concentrating on his chi. When his attack was complete, he looked up and saw the largest collection of energy he had ever seen in his entire life. He only saw it for a second though before it enveloped him and disintegrated every last molecule in his body. Cell had destroyed a member of his team.   
The android realised this could be a fatal turn of events. The plan had been that Dabura would dispose of the weakling while he kept Gohan occupied, then they would both team up on the Saiyan to take him out. Now _they_ were both free to team up on _him_ ironically. But there was still hope. The weak one was out cold and the Saiyan, although putting up a good fight, was weakening. Cell moved his eyes back to Gohan and put Dabura out of his mind. The fight resumed once more. Kamehamehas were shot by each of them and the beams met, representing their senders. They were not as big as the ones created in Gohan's epic battle with Cell on Earth, where the fate of the world depended on the outcome, but they had the same effect. More power was pumped into both beams and each fought to overpower the other. Gohan realised this was useless and would only drain his energy, but there was a solution. Little bolts of electricity circled his body as he began to glow more brightly. His hair grew slightly and stood on end, making him look as powerful as he now was. He had gone Super Saiyan 2. The moment the transformation was complete, he pumped a small amount of extra power into the beam and it grew in size as Cell's shrunk, retreating until it was back in his hands, then Boom! Gohan's kamehameha sent Cell flying to the clouds. He hit his head off them and went flying back to the ground. Gohan was waiting for him and sent a flying kick to the android's stomach. Cell screamed in agony and finally landed on the ground. He did his best to beg for mercy as Gohan stood over him, powering up a large ball of energy, but the only words he managed to utter were 'No…please!' before the blast exploded on him and blew each part of his body away. All that was left was a headless, armless, legless body, bruised and weary from battle. It would grow back soon, but before that happened, Cell would be arrested and dealt with by the Other World police force, as the other members of his gang would also be. Gohan took one last look at his nemesis then walked over to Boromir.   
He knelt down and placed his hand on his friend's head. Boromir slowly opened his eyes and tried to focus on what he could see. The image of Gohan finally appeared and he smiled.   
"How did we do?" he asked, sounding in a great deal of pain.   
Gohan waited a moment before saying, "We won."   
Boromir smiled and closed his eyes once more as he fell asleep.   
Gohan stood up again and telepathically contacted King Yemma. "Mission accomplished!" he told the ruler of the afterlife. "You can come and arrest Cell's entire gang as soon as you want."   
"Good work guys!" replied King Yemma. "We're sending our men down right now," then he added with great enthusiasm, "I have some good news too. You're both going home."   
Gohan smiled and lay down to recover from his battle. Being dead wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. In fact, he had found it to be quite an enjoyable experience.

Some distance away, a small yellow half man struggled to crawl across the blue grass, not really sure where he was going. "Water," he tried to say. "Need…water." He looked up to see another familiar face. This one was far more terrifying to him than the whole of Cell's gang combined. He wanted to scream but found he couldn't.   
"So," said the man as he stood with folded arms over the cowering, pathetic form of Babidi. "We meet again I see!" and he laughed an evil laugh that rang throughout the whole of the HFIL.

So Gohan and Boromir fared well in Other World. But what was happening on Earth while they were away? And who is the figure with the evil laugh Babidi has encountered? Find out in Chapter 11 where Middle Earth prepares to take on its new Dark Lord.


	11. Chapter11: The Pawn

Chapter 11: The pawn

Denethor lifted his head from the wooden table he was currently sitting at and stared into the mystical sphere once more. 'Why hasn't he made his move?' he wondered to himself as, suddenly, an image appeared in the palantir. It was a message written in the ancient and evil tongue of Mordor, and it said: 'King's pawn to king's pawn 4'. Denethor looked at his chess board and moved the appropriate piece to the appropriate place. 'Hmm…' he thought to himself whilst stroking his chin. 'The Dark Lord isn't very good at chess'. He turned his sand timer over and began to plan his next plan. His train of thought was soon broken though by the entrance of his son, Faramir. The door opened and in he walked with a very worried look on his face.   
"Father, I have important news," he exclaimed. His face looked very red, as if he had been running some distance to bring the news. His breath was beginning to return and he ran his hand over his forehead to remove the sweat that had accumulated.   
"Not now Faramir," replied the king. "I'm playing the Dark Lord at chess."   
"The news concerns the Dark Lord father."   
Denethor turned in his chair to face his son, suddenly seeming very interested in what he had to say.   
"Have you discovered his strategy?" he asked, excitedly.   
"Strategy?" asked his confused son.   
"Yes. I can take his queen in four moves, but I have a feeling he has a trick up his sleeve."   
"No, it's got nothing to do with chess father."   
Denethor turned back to the table and contemplated his next move, ignoring Faramir's presence. The latter was not about to give up so easily though.   
"The army of Mordor has gathered. They are ready to move west and I fear their plan is to attack Gondor."   
This earned Denethor's interest once more. He looked into the palantir with a look of contempt and wondered how he could have been so stupid.   
"It seems this chess game was just a diversion tactic," he said. "Very clever Sauron, but you won't fool me that easily. Chess is just a game, but a game you have decided to play for real. I accept your new challenge and shall crush your real army as I was about to your chess one."   
Sauron heard the king's words and was confused and insulted by them. He had had no ulterior motive when he had decided to play Denethor at chess. Being bodiless and having had his land and minions and ring taken over by an intruder, most of his time was now spent in complete and utter boredom. Chess was all he could think to do to pass the next infinite eternities. However, Faramir's news had been correct. The army of Mordor had, indeed, gathered with the intention of waging war on Gondor. It was Denethor's assumption that Sauron would be the one to launch the attack that was wrong. There was a new Dark Lord, but only Mordor knew it. Vegeta would be the one to crush the king and all his land. Sauron merely wanted to prove his superior intelligence.   
"Where's your brother?" asked the king.   
"He stepped out to Rivendell," replied his son.   
"Damn. Well, I really wanted him to lead the army, but I guess you'll have to do it. Gather the troops and attack tomorrow morning or whenever you feel like it, then report back to me."   
Faramir was too pleased at the chance he had been given to notice that his father couldn't really care less if he lived or died. Boromir had always been his favourite son and he made no effort to hide that fact. Faramir was disposable in his opinion, but he did not realise his younger son's capacity for leadership and courage. He had made a fantastic decision without even knowing it.   
"Thank you father. I'll do my best to protect Gondor."   
"Yeah yeah, whatever. Now go away and leave me alone."   
He waited for his son to leave before returning to his game of chess. With Faramir calling the shots, he was free to beat Sauron at his leisure. 'Hmm…' he thought as he eyed the board suspiciously. 'I wonder what he has planned.' He added as an afterthought: 'This game will drive me mad!' 

Somewhere to the South of Gondor, a wizard, a Saiyan, a human and a Windlord were resting peacefully amongst a pile of twigs and leaves that had been arranged in no form recognisable to any being bar the four of them. They called it a hut, but the eccentric layout of the structure would probably have been of more use to a modern arts critic looking for a spectacular new piece to analyse. Still, it provided shelter at the few occasions it didn't collapse and luckily the weather was on their side.   
It had been necessary to rest as the journey had taken longer than Goku had expected. The Saiyan had not realised that Gwaihar, despite being the Windlord, was rather slow by his standards. He was flying at a crawling pace and the eagle _still_ had to try and keep up. Krillan had a similar experience although not quite as bad seeing as he was not as quick as his old friend. Gandalf had apologised many times on behalf of _his_ old friend, much to its annoyance. Gwaihir felt he was fast enough and reminded the wizard that _he_(Gwaihir) was the one who knew the path to Mordor by air and if he(Gandalf) didn't shut up, they could all find their own way and get lost and killed by orcs. Few complaints were made after that threat and the rest of the journey had been quite peaceful. It was getting dark, however, and they were all tired. Gandalf decided they should land and camp during nightfall and so they did. Each took his turn to stand guard as Krillan had been terrified by Gwaihir's mention of orcs and did not feel safe on ground anymore. Right now it was finally his turn to protect the camp and he shivered, partly due to his orcphobia, but also because of the cold. He still felt lucky though to have been given the last shift. Not only did that mean he could have a long, uninterrupted lie as soon as they landed, but dawn was near and light began to slowly fill the holes that darkness had previously occupied in the landscape. He felt more relaxed as he reflected upon that thought and lay down for a moment until he fell asleep.

After waking from the first decent night's sleep he had had in a long time, the people's champion opened his eyes and seem startled for a second before he remembered where he was; Home. The place he had not been since Buu had returned and taken over his life. That would never happen again though as he decided never to leave the house again. Sure the people might turn against him and start to realise what a phoney he was, but that was better than a lifetime with the marshmallow. He stepped into the bathroom and, for the first time in a long time, had a shower. This was abnormally exciting for him. Everything was, for it was as if he was experiencing each of the little niceties in life for the first time. The last however many months it had been(He had lost count after a while) had been spent in slavery, though he could not decide if it really was slavery. If someone considered you to be their friend and only wanted to use you for entertainment even though you didn't enjoy your time spent with them, did that make you a slave? No, Hercule decided. It was more like prostitution, even though he wasn't being paid. None of that mattered now though since he was free and could do whatever he liked.   
He left the shower after having been in it for forty five minutes, convinced he was finally clean, and walked downstairs to make some breakfast.

The four companions were awoken by the sound of a hundred thousand people all saying 'wop'. (Having just read the Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy, I couldn't resist putting that line in). They were really awoken by the sound of steel hitting steel and bloody screams. Gandalf looked at his portable sundial.   
"Bloody hell! Half past eleven! The little mole didn't wake us up!"   
Krillan stirred and opened his eyes. "Wh..what?" he asked, sleepily.   
"You didn't wake us! We slept in!" shouted Gandalf.   
"Oh…sorry," Krillan apologised. He wasn't, however, genuinely sorry for delaying their task and possibly causing the destruction of Middle Earth. He just wanted Gandalf off his back.   
"Quick," shouted Gandalf. "We have to find the source of the battle."   
He mounted Gwaihir, waking him up, and beckoned Goku to join him. Krillan could go to hell as far as he was concerned and he wasn't too bothered whether or not the midget joined them. He was rather disappointed when he did join them though.   
They reached a high altitude and witnessed the battle that was occurring in Pelennor Field. Thousands of beings were involved: Humans, orcs, trolls, uruk-hai and other species Gandalf could not recognise were killing each other and severing each others limbs in the most violent manner possible.   
"What's going on?" asked Goku.   
"Gondor and Mordor are at war," the wizard replied, his head still facing the field. "Vegeta has sent his minions to destroy the Realm. His reign of terror, the new Dark Age, has begun."   
Noone spoke for ten seconds after that, after which time Gandalf decided it was okay for him to talk again since none of the others were. "Of course, we might have arrived in time to stop it if that little jake had woken us up!" he said.   
Krillan wasn't listening to the wizard's insults though. He was too busy straining his neck to make out an object he had spotted in the sky above the battle. Goku had spotted it too and he was the first to recognise what it was, not by its form, but by its power. Vegeta hovered a hundred feet above the field watching his army being destroyed by the men of Gondor.   
The Dark Lord was dismayed by his creatures' performance. He had expected them to at least put up a semi decent fight, but in the short time the battle had been going on for, almost a quarter of his legion had fallen. From this height the field looked red, covered in the blood of many dead orcs and men. The trolls seemed to be holding their own, which was good because they were his greatest asset. Failure was one of Vegeta's least favourite things though. It was also something he could not tolerate. The ground shook as he increased his power slightly, bringing the battle to a sudden halt. He raised his hands and began to power up his Big Bang attack.   
Goku sensed what was about to happen and panicked.   
"No!" he screamed in vain to the men on the battlefield. "Get out of there! Can't you see you're wasting your lives for no particular reason?"   
Even if the men had heard him, they could not have escaped in time. The giant ball floated above them, roughly the size of Gondor's army. None could see the smile on Vegeta's face as he released it, sending both armies to their death.   
"I have grown tired of watching you," he exclaimed as the energy ball made its way to the field. "You no longer are of any use to me and so I shall destroy you!" He laughed a maniacal laugh as the ground tore itself apart from the force of the impact. Limbs and weapons and shield flew in all directions in a flash of blinding light. Then came the explosion. It echoed throughout most of Middle Earth, sending a message to the people: There is a new Dark Lord in town, and noone's gonna mess with him.

Good news travels fast, but bad news travels faster, so it worked out that the news of Hercule's return hit the people at the same time as the news of Vegeta's destruction of the entire Gondor army. If only one of those pieces of news had arrived, the champion would have been fine, but the combination of the two would lead to something he did not like the idea of. Naturally, whenever a new source of power threatened the lives of the weak and dependent people of Orange town, they ran to Hercule, their saviour, glorifying him at first to boost his over-inflated ego, before mentioning the danger they were in. It worked every time as it soon would again.   
The 'hero' piled the remains of his hearty breakfast into the sink and lay down to let his food digest. He allowed a tear to run from his eye and flow to his chin before falling onto his neck, as he thought about how nice it was to finally be home. He looked at his wife's paintings that still hung on the wall to remind him of her. He was reminded of her now, and this, in turn, reminded him of his daughter, Videl. He suddenly noticed her absence and wondered where she could be. 'Oh well…' he said to himself. 'She's probably safe. She can take care of herself. After all, I trained her.' He put his arms behind his head and continued his fly-by tour of the room. It all looked so new to him after having been away for such a long time. The piano looked as if it had never been touched, the tv as if it had never been switched on…He paused the tour at the realisation that he had not watched tv for ages. He picked up the remote and turned it on as quick as he could, as a man who had not had a glass of water in days would gulp down any offered to him using his last bit of strength. The picture appeared slowly of a man with a microphone standing by a flaming mass of bodies and swords.   
"This is the scene from Pelennor field," he said as paramedics worked quickly behind him, searching in vain for anyone who was still alive.   
"It was not the battle that caused this carnage," continued the reporter. "The attacker is unknown, but he could be seen hovering above the two armies before the explosion that caused the death of over 4000 men, orcs and trolls. Witnesses say the attacker sent out a giant fireball that exploded upon impact with the field and created the mess we see now."   
Hercule's food stopped for a moment in his digestive system and wondered if it should be travelling up instead of down. It wasn't the sight of the bloodshed that caused this reaction; more a gut feeling of impending doom. He wasn't psychic, but he could tell who was at the door when the bell rang ten minutes later.

The smoke still rose high from the battlefield when the reporters arrived. Goku, Gandalf, Krillan and Gwaihir had left around the same time after staring at the scene for a little over half an hour. None of them could believe Vegeta could be that evil. None, that is, bar Gandalf, who knew it was not purely Vegeta who was carrying out the acts. The One Ring had played its part also.   
They settled down in a warm, shaded area some distance away where they would be safe for a while. Only Gandalf had said anything since they had left and it was mainly to himself since Goku and Krillan were pre-occupied with thoughts of Vegeta's actions. He spoke about what they had witnessed and the repercussions of it. The plan had to be altered now, much to his distress. He felt he was needed in Mordor, that he could be of great assistance. But now his wisdom was telling him that if the Dark Lord's next step was to plunder and possibly destroy Gondor, then Rohan would be next. If that was the case, he would have to travel there himself and warn their king, Theoden.   
"We could use some assistance Goku," he said, finally addressing one of his companions.   
Goku turned from both his spot on the rock he was perched on and his thoughts. "What do you mean?" he asked. "I thought we already had a plan that would work."   
Krillan became very nervous.   
"We did," the wizard answered. "But circumstances have changed that, I'm afraid."   
He turned away from them. "I'm working on a new plan, but it would help if your friends were here, Goku."   
"I can instant translocate over to Dende's lookout point if you want," said the Saiyan. "Maybe they've finished training."   
"That would be wise," replied the wizard. "However, I think it would also be wise to leave the hobbits there. This is a danger far too great for the likes of them."   
"Okay. I'll see what I can do."   
"Hurry Goku. There isn't much time."   
He put two fingers to his head and disappeared. There was an awkward silence between the remaining members of the team.   
"So…" Krillan said eventually. "You like movies?"

"Hercule, we love you!" cried an unimaginative member of the endless crowd of people that now filled the champion's garden. Under any other circumstance, he would have loved to hear that phrase coming from one of his fans, but he suspected they had other motives for gathering at his house.   
'Don't be stupid,' he told himself. 'They're your fans! They're happy you're finally back! Just make up some story about defending the world against some bad guy in another country and you'll be fine. They only want to worship you. After all, they need _someone_ to worship and who better than the champion?'   
Having convinced himself that his fans had no ulterior motive for wanting to see him, Hercule opened the door and made a 'V' sign with his right hand as he posed for his audience. Loud screams rang throughout the people.   
"That's right!" he exclaimed with a big grin on his face. "Your champion has returned! I was away saving the world in Africa and I didn't tell anyone I was going cause…um…cause I didn't want the bad guys to find out I was going there through the media. Yeah! I wanted to take them by surprise you see, but I defeated him and saved the world again!"   
More screams could be heard this time and Hercule relaxed. 'Phew!' he said quietly. His calmness was soon ruined though by the appearance of a reporter making his way through the crowd.   
"Hercule!" the man shouted through a microphone. "Hercule, over here!" He was at the front now and stood beside the 'hero', holding the mic to his face.   
"Hercule," he continued. "I take it you've heard of the tragedy of Gondor that happened this morning, right?"   
Hercule tried to maintain his grin, ignoring the beads of sweat that now ran down his face. "Um…yes!" he said.   
"Did you hear that people?" the reporter shouted with joy. "Hercule's going to save us again!"   
The crowd's screams echoed throughout the land.   
"But I didn't…" Hercule tried, unsuccessfully, to interrupt.   
"Hercule," said the reporter once the noise had died down. "Tell us how you can remain so calm when later today you will be facing the toughest opponent you have ever faced in your life."   
"Um…" replied the hero. "Today? Oh, today's not good. I have a cold." He coughed and faked a sneeze."   
"Did you hear that people?" asked the reporter with extreme glee. "Hercule says he's going to leave right now! Let's have a big cheer for our saviour, Hercule!"   
The people screamed louder than the previous times they had screamed put together. Three men escorted Hercule into a car, unable to hear his excuses and pleas. They too entered the vehicle and sat on either side of him. "We've been hired as your bodyguards," they declared once he was strapped in safely.   
"Oh," said Hercule happily. "You mean you're going to fight the bad guy with me? I mean, not that I need your help or anything, but…"   
"No sir. We've been told to make sure you arrive at the villain's fortress safely. After that, you're on your own."   
Eyewitness reports had led the media to correctly believe the villain's fortress was in Mordor, as Vegeta had been seen flying there after his destructive attack. Hercule fumbled with his seatbelt.   
"Is there a problem sir?" asked the bodyguard on his left.   
"Oh, no!" said Hercule, nervously. "It was just a little tight. Didn't want it damaging my muscles otherwise I wouldn't be able to fight as well!" he grinned and hoped they'd both buy it.   
"A wise precaution sir." Said the bodyguard, and the car took off.

Goku did not like what he saw when he arrived at Dende's lookout point. There was not a person in sight, and he could hear nothing. He knew Dende must be close though as he had used the Nameks energy signature to lock onto for the instant translocation. The power had felt weaker than usual, but still at a high enough level to allow the process to work successfully. Something still didn't feel right though.   
He walked into the palace and heard voices coming from the first room on the right. Yamcha was there, and so were Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. Goku entered, confused, and wondered what was going on.   
"Goku!" Yamcha exclaimed upon seeing his friend. "What are you doing here? I thought you were on your way to fight Vegeta."   
Goku looked around the small room. There were beds standing by the walls and some of them were occupied. On closer inspection, he could see who they were occupied by. The first contained Piccolo. The next had Frodo and Sam, side by side and the one next to them, Merry and Pippin. Dende was in the bed by the far wall and Mr Popo in the one next to him. They were all unconscious and their power levels were very dim.   
"What happened here?" Goku asked.   
"I don't know," replied Yamcha. "We got back here last night and found them all unconscious."   
Goku tried to figure out why this might be, then suddenly realised that his son, Gohan, was not here.   
"Where's Gohan?" he asked.   
"He wasn't here when we arrived," replied Yamcha.   
Goku tried to sense his son's power level but found he couldn't. "He's dead," he said calmly and sat down. Noone said a word.   
"He can be brought back with the dragonballs, but whoever did this to him will pay!" he said, louder than before.   
"Goku…" Yamcha said, nervously. "There's more. The dragonballs weren't here either. We don't have the radar anymore, but they're nowhere to be found."   
Goku suddenly realised what had happened. It must have been Vegeta. He attacked his friends and stole the dragonballs. His anger increased rapidly. "Does he have all seven balls?" he asked through gritted teeth.   
"No. We managed to find the last one. It's right here." Yamcha took the dragonball from his pocket and handed it to Goku.   
"Good," said the Saiyan. "Then there's still a shred of hope."   
He walked over to Dende and placed his hand to the Nameks head. The others watched in amazement as a strange energy field surrounded the two and flowed from Goku to Dende rapidly. Finally, the young healer awoke and opened his eyes. "Goku?" was the first thing he asked.   
"Don't get up Dende," Goku said quickly. "I gave you some of my power but you're still very weak."   
"Where are the dragonballs?" Dende asked.   
"They're gone," replied Goku. "Do you know what happened to them?"   
"The Nazgul…" Dende tried to say. "Men in black capes. They attacked us."   
At the mention of men in black capes, Goku suddenly remembered the town where they had found the first dragonball and how Vegeta had killed a man in a black cape on a horse.   
"Were they on horses?" he asked.   
"No…eagles. They came to get the dragonballs…for Vegeta. Where's Videl?" he asked. It might have seemed a strange thing to worry about at a time like this, but Dende was a healer and he still cared deeply for his patients.   
"I took her home," said Yamcha. "She was asleep when we arrived and didn't know what had happened, but when she woke up and found you all unconscious and no sign of Gohan, she panicked. I figured she'd be safer back in Orange town, so that's where I took her."   
"Good thinking," said Goku. Dende was disappointed though; he figured he had a chance with the girl.   
"Why did you come back Goku?" Dende asked.   
"Gandalf sent me here. He says he has a new plan and we need more people to carry it out. Something about defending Gondor."   
Aragorn turned at the mention of his land. "What of Gondor?" he asked.   
"The army of Gondor was fighting the army of Mordor. Vegeta destroyed them both."   
Aragorn felt a sudden burst of passion inside of him and stood up in a noble manner. "I swore to Boromir I would defend Minas Tirith. Now it seems I am the only one who can. I will join you in your quest Goku."   
"Me too!" said Legolas and Gimli, both at once.   
"Okay," said Goku. "Along with Krillan, Gandalf and myself, that makes six. I think maybe Piccolo could help also. Dende, can you revive him?"   
"Yes," replied the Namek. "I'll do it now," And he started work.   
"Okay. Don't revive the others till we're gone," Goku continued. "Gandalf said we should leave the hobbits to rest and I don't think Goten and Trunks would be safe. They don't understand the seriousness of the situation and would probably get in the way."   
When he had finished talking, he looked round to see Piccolo standing, looking stronger than ever.   
"Piccolo!" Goku said, sounding surprised. He had not expected to see the Namek looking so healthy so soon. "There's no time to explain, but we need you to come with us right now."   
"I'll take your word for it Goku," smiled Piccolo and placed his hand on the Saiyan's shoulder. The others did likewise and in a second they were gone, leaving Dende to heal the others.

With the roads being clear, due to the fact that everyone was too scared to leave their homes, and the fact that his driver had been given authority to break the speed limit, Hercule arrived at Mordor in the middle of the afternoon. The great and powerful fortress of Minas Morgul loomed over the car as over the towering wall, flames leaped from plains of barren land. Hercule's eyes widened and he literally froze for the second time in his life.   
"We're here Hercule, sir," announced the driver with a smile on his face as he turned to take a quick look at his hero. "I thought it would be safer to take a side entrance since the main gates will probably be heavily guarded."   
Hercule relaxed for a moment after hearing this news.   
"Of course, rumour has it that a giant spider protects the entrance to Minas Morgul and no one has ever survived an encounter with her."   
"The bodyguards both looked at Hercule, expectantly.   
"Oh..oh that doesn't worry me. I can handle a little spider," said Hercule. That much was true. He could handle a little spider when armed with washing-up gloves, a toilet and a set of large tongs. Shelob, the spider that had just been described, would eat him alive for sure.   
"Are you ready to go now sir?" the driver asked.   
"Um…sure, yeah," replied Hercule. The bodyguards stepped out the car and waited for the champion. He didn't follow them.   
"Something wrong sir?" asked one of the bodyguards.   
"Oh, nothing really. Just the seatbelt is stuck," Hercule replied. It was a lie, but a pointless one as he knew he would have to play the hero in the end or have his fans discover that he was a fake.   
"No problem," said the bodyguard and took out a knife, slicing the seatbelt and freeing Hercule.   
"Thanks," said Hercule through gritted teeth. "Um…you guys can leave now. I'll take it from here."   
They waited.   
"Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked.   
"This is an historic moment," replied the driver. "We want to witness the start of your climb."   
Hercule nodded. There was no way out of it now. He would have to climb the tower of Minas Morgul, fight the giant spider, Shelob, and battle the most powerful being in the entire world. And so he started to climb. He climbed until he could no longer see the driver or bodyguards anymore and finally heard the car start and travel away at great speed.   
"Phew!" he said to himself. "Now I can climb down this thing and lie low until the whole situation blows over."   
He began his descent but found he soon had to rest. He sat down on the path and tried to get his breath back, But quickly realised he wasn't alone. Something was approaching him from behind, walking heavily, but at a normal pace. He stayed perfectly still and silent, feeling this might be the end. Whatever was approaching him probably knew he was there, or if not they would soon find out and capture him, probably to torture and kill him. Running along this narrow path was too dangerous an option, so instead he pressed himself against the wall and closed his eyes. The being was beside him now. He could feel its breath on his shoulder. 'I'm doomed' he thought, immediately afterwards thinking that this may have been his last ever thought. A large, heavy finger pressed down on his back.   
"BUU!" said the creature.   
Hercule screamed.   
"Me find you!" Buu exclaimed.   
Hercule recovered from a minor heart attack and turned to face the pink blob. "What are you doing here?" he asked.   
"Friends steal shiny toy, so Buu look for it. Me go here cause lots of noise here from big boom."   
Hercule had spent the best part of a year trying to escape this creature, but for the first time ever, actually felt pleased to see him.   
"What you do here?" Buu asked.   
Hercule realised this was the perfect opportunity to exploit Buu and retain his hero status. "Oh, I was looking for your shiny toy too!" he lied. "In fact, I know where it is!"   
"You know where Buu's shiny toy?" asked Buu.   
"Yes! In fact, it's very close Buu. There's a man at the top of this tower who has it. He stole it!"   
"Mean man steal Buu's toy?"   
"Yes! He also called you fat and ugly too!" He smiled at his genius.   
"Man call Buu fat and oogly?"   
"Uh huh!"   
Steam came out of Buu's head and he turned a deep shade of red before calming down. "You take Buu to man!" he demanded.   
"Certainly Buu," said Hercule and climbed on the creature's back. "It will be faster if you fly. Take us high above the tower and I'll show you where he is."   
Buu took off with the champion on his back. The latter did not much like flying on the back of such an unstable monster, but it was either that or risk being caught by Shelob, sticking to the path. He laughed an evil laugh as poor, naïve Buu flew them to Vegeta, unaware that he was about to do Hercule's dirty work for him.

"No! Even if the Millennium Falcon hadn't shown up, Luke would still have been able to destroy the Death Star on his own!"   
Krillan had not expected Gandalf to want to talk about movies, but was pleasantly surprised by how hardcore a sci-fi fan the wizard was. They had been arguing about details of the original Star Wars movie for twenty minutes before Goku materialised with the others.   
"Goku!" shouted Krillan, and ran to hug his friend.   
"Krillan…" Goku said quietly. "What have I told you about public displays of affection?"   
"Oh," said the midget, letting go of the Saiyan.   
"I see you managed to find help Goku," said Gandalf.   
Before he could reply, Aragorn interrupted him. "Is it true we are to defend Gondor?" he asked.   
"Yes, it is true," Gandalf said. "I fear they may be subject to a siege very soon. There is no time to waste. We must go there now."   
They all agreed and prepared to travel to Gondor. Gandalf mounted Gwaihir and turned to Goku. "Settle a bet," he said. "Did Chewbacca speak an actual language?"   
They arrived in Gondor after a half hour journey, only to find a ghost town void of any signs of life. People were locked inside their houses, too scared to leave and even the soldiers who normally protected the city walls were gone, dead in fact. Faramir, not expecting to lose every single one of Gondor's soldiers, had led every last one of them to battle. They had all paid for this error in judgement, even their leader, who lay by his shield in the field of Pelennor.   
"We must set to work right away," Gandalf told them. "We must stand guard by the walls and watch for activity from the neighbouring fields. Each of you take a spot on one of the walls and stand guard. Try to space yourselves. Gondor is large and there are only seven of us, so don't stay too close to each other. Our sight must cover as much land as possible. Gwaihir will also do his part by flying above Gondor and having a birds-eye view of the area. If any of you spot anything suspicious, warn us all and we'll join you where you are. Don't leave your position for anything. If you need the toilet, raise your hand. So if there aren't any questions, go now."   
They each found a spot and stood on top of the wall, defending Gondor the only way they knew how. Two brave men, a dwarf, an elf, a Saiyan, a wizard, a Namek and an eagle surrounded the land and protected the people who did not know what to do. They waited, under instructions from their leader, Gandalf. Each as motionless as the city itself. They waited.

Inside a large room in the palace of Gondor, Denethor looked first at his chessboard, then at the Palantir. He moved his remaining bishop and turned the sand timer on its side.   
"Check mate!" he declared.

A new plan has formed and Gondor must be protected against the evil Dark Lord Vegeta. At the same time, Buu and Hercule 'bravely' make their way to Barad-Dur to do battle with the Dark Lord, unbeknown to our true heroes. How will they all fare? Find out in Chapter 12.


	12. Chapter12: Men of honour

****

Chapter 12: Men of honour

They waited for the best part of the day. There seemed to be no sign of the Nazgul's appearance although the rain had started. Gandalf understood the significance in this omen. It was a warning from the gods, his creators. They were worried. They feared for the safety of Middle Earth, but realised they were powerless to stop what would inevitably happen if things continued the way they had been as of late. From the Gray Havens they sent out their warnings. The rain poured down mercilessly and all across Middle Earth the demi-gods knew it would not stop until evil was finally conquered. Not many things worried Gandalf the Grey, but this did. If the gods themselves were worried, maybe he had overestimated the hope in his plan. He stood on the wall surrounding Gondor, next to the steel gates used for entry to the realm. Now they were being used to stop entry. As he looked down at the thick poles of iron, he hoped they would withstand the power of the Dark Lord, yet he did not suspect they could.   
Gwaihir was the first to feel the rain. He was flying a mile above Gondor and as the first drop hit his left wing, he felt a burning sensation that made his feathers ruffle. He did not usually like the rain but this was different. The rain had meaning this time. It was trying to communicate, to convey a message. He could not, however, decipher it. Only Gandalf could do that in the present company and Gwaihir did not feel like leaving his post to ask the wizard. Instead he looked down and saw the mortals high atop Gondor. He then looked to the East and saw Mordor, forcing his feathers to ruffle once more. Something was circling the centre of the land. It was too small to make out from this distance but it looked round and pink. The Windlord decided to keep an eye on it but not warn the others until the object was found to be a threat.   
Legolas and Gimli stood close to each other though several miles of brick separated them as they stood motionless, eyes fixed ahead in watch for danger. For once, marijuana was the last thing on their mind and they had become as serious as this story now has. Not even the rain affected them. It poured over them, but did not move them. They suspected it would be pouring down over all of them. This was true, except for Gandalf who had created a shield around his body to protect himself from it. He did not mind getting wet, but this particular rain disturbed him like few things ever had.   
Goku did not know what was going on. He remembered something about defending Gondor and figured he should stay put where he was, but his stomach was growling, telling him to eat. Now was not the time, however. There were more important things even to Goku than food. He was the most powerful of the eight fighters and even though he thought he was equally as important as the rest of them, he was infinitely wrong. Krillan stood near him on the Western Wall. He had chosen this area to defend because an attack from the west was unlikely since Mordor and the Dark Lord were situated in the East. He was scared, but still stronger than most of the company. He was just not sure if he could handle the pressure anymore as he looked round at Goku just in time to see the first drop of rain spill onto the Saiyan's hair.   
Piccolo did not mind the sudden change in weather despite the fact he came from a planet where it seldom rained. Trivial matters such as this did not bother him, especially when he had a mission to carry out. He had been completely motionless for hours and that is how he planned to stay till danger arose.   
Aragorn was not still, however. He looked at the land that was rightfully his and realised he had a duty to protect it. The people inside the walls were his people. One day he would return and reclaim his throne and once more be king of Gondor. For now, he had to make sure there was a Gondor to return to though. He faced ahead once more and hoped he would not have to witness the destruction of his realm. Gondor meant more to him than he let on and after this was over, he planned to return to Rivendell and see Arwen again. They would come back and marry here, as promised, and rule over Gondor once more as was meant to be. A loud screech could be heard from far above. He looked up to see Gwaihir, the Windlord motionless in the sky. The giant eagle began its descent against its will and landed on the rooftops of Gondor.

High above Mount Doom, Buu bore Hercule as they looked down into the fiery pit below. Buu's face wore a curious expression, unlike his passenger's which took on an appearance of complete and utter fear. He trembled almost violently as Buu floated motionless above the volcano. Too scared to speak, yet too worried not to. He had no choice but to trust the monster who had quickly become his friend again.   
"What down there?" the 'monster' suddenly asked him. Hercule was still too frightened to answer. Hovering above a lava pit was not his idea of a good time.   
"Me go look," continued Buu, breaking Hercule's silence.   
"NO!" screamed the champion. "It's too dangerous. You'll get yourself killed!"   
Buu looked confused. Baby's discover at an early age what will and won't cause pain, but Buu did not have this luxury, as few things ever seemed to harm him. For this reason he was eager to test Hercule's theory.   
"How you know?" asked Buu. Rather than answering him, Hercule took off his cloak and cast it down into the volcano. It floated to the bottom where it caught fire before touching the flames, then disintegrated as it entered them. The fiery magma rose higher than Hercule had expected it to, making him jump. He let out a small scream and steadied himself on Buu once more. "Take us down Buu," he commanded. Buu immediately obliged   
They settled down on a ledge, somewhere closer to the heart of the volcano. An entrance had been forged, seemingly a long time ago by the look of it. Stairs led up to the entrance and Hercule realised the ledge he was not standing on must have a purpose.   
"Where cloak go?" Buu asked.   
"It melted, Buu," replied Hercule. "It was destroyed."   
Buu still seemed confused. He did not ask any more questions regarding the cloak or the volcano though. Something more important now occupied his mind.   
"Where Buu's toy?" he asked.   
Hercule stood on the edge of the platform and gazed hypnotically into the pit. The fire moved in all directions, jumping and swimming, each flame fighting another in one big battle. They formed shapes of spears and arrows, powerful swords clashing against each other. The fire roared furiously in places and screamed in agony at others. Blood curling screams that sent shivers down Hercule's spine. And at the centre of it all shone the all-seeing eye, visible due to the parting of the magma. The battle raged around it as it watched, laughing. It saw everything. It saw Hercule. The champion looked on out of fear, terrified that taking his eyes off the eye would have dire consequences. Only the intervention of Buu broke his gaze. He felt the monster's hand on his shoulder and looked round, losing his balance and fell into the pit.

Goku heard a voice and turned. "They're here!" he heard it call and recognised it as Aragorn's. Wasting no time, he translocated over to him to see what was wrong. He appeared beside the ranger who was still shouting for the others.   
"They're here," he repeated upon seeing Goku.   
"Who are?" asked the saiyan.   
Aragorn pointed to the sky and Goku made out a black cloud, from which emerged five black riders on eagles.   
"Mounted on fallen eagles," commented Aragorn. "How ironic that Gwaihir should fall at the hands of those who fell from his grace."   
Goku wasted no time trying to figure out what Aragorn had meant. Instead, he took the ranger's hand and translocated them both to the gates. When they arrived, he disappeared once more, leaving his passenger behind.   
"The Nazgul are here," Aragorn said to himself, drawing his sword.   
A minute later they all stood together by the gates of Gondor. Goku had transported them one at a time in the same way he had Aragorn. Now they watched the riders approaching slowly from the black cloud that led back to the wasteland of Mordor. The rain poured down heavier and the eagles could now be heard.   
"We have lost our arial scout!" remarked Legolas.   
"Yes," replied Gandalf, "but he has served his purpose. Gwaihir's death was not in vain for it bought us time. Only by not wasting this time can we ensure he did not die in vain."   
"Gandalf is right," said Aragorn as he paced back and forth, the look of a desperate man on his face.   
"That is why I shall waste little time on words." The others listened eagerly.   
"You do not fight for your friends," he told them. "You fight for your country! You are all now men of Gondor. You are men of honour! And that is how you shall be at the fall of the Nazgul. We fight till they have left our land, dead or alive. Draw your weapons and prepare yourself. The time to fight is now!"   
As he finished talking, a black rider swooped down at him. He ducked as he rose Anduril, planting it in the throat of the fallen eagle and showering his head with the dead animal's blood. He looked up and let the rain wash over him, channelling the blood from his face; then he looked at the others. His gaze said it all. They drew their weapons and jumped the Nazgul as it fell. 

Thinking fast was not something Buu did often, but when his judgement told him it needed to be done, he could be incredibly skilful. He flew towards Hercule who had almost reached the pit. The champion felt his skin begin to catch fire and let out what he thought would be his last scream. Something strange was happening though. He was now looking at the flames as they jumped to grab him, narrowly missing at each attempt. He looked up to see Buu holding him from above. The fat, pink marshmallow pulled the champ up and placed him on his back.   
"Thank you Buu!" panted Hercule. "You saved my life!"   
Buu smiled, but the smile was soon wiped from his face as the fire rose and caressed his skin. He let out a high pitched yelp and looked down to see the flames pulling his stretchy flesh from him. A large pink mound was ripped from his body and he saw it melt as the flames pulled it into their lake.   
"How?" was all Buu could ask. He could not find the words to express what he was feeling because he did not know such feelings existed. He was shocked, scared and hurt all the same time. No mere object had caused him to feel pain before. Few living things had either, but he had learnt early on that this was possible. Never an object though. He felt a sudden wave of fear rush over him and flew at great speed out of the volcano. Hercule struggled to hold on and finally balanced himself when they had flown far from Mount Doom.   
The champion could see something was troubling his friend.   
"Are you okay Buu?" he asked.   
Buu did not answer. He simply flew on in the direction of Barad-Dur. When he finally spoke it was only to say "Is this where Buu's toy is?" Hercule pointed towards the tower, somehow knowing they were headed in the right direction.   
"That way Buu," he said. "That's where your toy is."   
As they flew on, he began to feel guilty for exploiting Buu. The creature had once again revealed that it had feelings and Hercule now felt he had to treat it as he would any other feeling creature. He suffered in silence though. Guilt or no guilt, the world was in danger and Buu had a better chance of defeating the Dark Lord than he had. He would never admit that fact, but he knew it deep inside. Barad-Dur approached and Buu began to feel as determined as he was scared. Determined he regain his toy by any means necessary. He was unsure if he was going to like the means however.

Aragorn and Goku remained on the walls. The latter fired kamehamehas at each of the Nazgul, destroying their beasts. They jumped from the eagles as they died and fell to Gondor where they immediately got to their feet and joined the battle. Legolas and Gimli had set to work on the first of the Nazgul. He fended off their attacks until he could draw his sword, then thrust the weapon at the elf and dwarf as they withdrew to better aim their own weapons. Gimli charged at the Nazgul with his axe, swinging it wildly. His attack was dismissed, however, by the Black hooded former man who met the dwarf's axe with his sword and forced him to into the wall, proving to be the stronger swordsman. Legolas readied an arrow and aimed it at the beast. It flew with tremendous accuracy and landed in its back. The creature stumbled and almost dropped his sword, but rose again before he could fall. It turned to face Legolas now. Another arrow was aimed at him and released soon after. He lifted his sword with incredible speed and deflected it before it could do any damage. Legolas' eyes widened and he lowered his bow. Suddenly, the Nazgul stumbled once more and fell. As he struggled to get up, the elf could make out the cause of his fall. Gimli's axe had been driven hard into its back. The dwarf now got to his feet and smiled at his friend from the opposite side of the black rider. "That's one up for me!" he laughed. Legolas did not return his friend's smile however. Instead he fixed his eyes on the Nazgul who just a second ago showed no signs of life, yet was now rising. It stood before them once more, pulling the axe from his back and tossing it against Gondors walls. Its laugh could be heard from behind its hood as it pointed its sword at Legolas. Slowly approaching the elf, it lengthened its arm and prepared to plunge its weapon into him. Gimli ran at the rider and drove his clenched fists into it, but the Nazgul simply swung his free arm at the dwarf, sending him skidding across the ground. Legolas quickly readied another arrow and shot it at the beast. Once more, it used its 'shield' to defend itself. The arrow fell and the rider advanced. Using all his speed, the elf ran. He looked around for help as he fled the Nazgul but quickly stopped in his tracks; His friends were close, but in the same situation as he was in. Each of them fought a black rider and the battle was in full swing all around the gates of Gondor. Aragorn and Goku circled another of the Nazgul and Krillan, Piccolo and Gandalf each had one all to himself. None of them appeared to be doing any better than he was. He turned once more and saw his opponent, arms folded, laughing at him. Gimli was conscious, but unable to move. He lowered his bow and wondered if it was still possible to defend Gondor.   
Goku zanzookened behind a black rider but failed to land a punch. Even the combined effort of himself and Aragorn wasn't enough to damage the beast. The power they had been given by Vegeta was greater than they could ever have imagined, yet still they fought despite their ever decreasing confidence. Goku glanced at the small buildings and the tower in the centre of the land. As they fought, Denethor sat in the tower, playing chess, unaware of the chaos that was going on around him.   
"I need to fire something at him!" Goku shouted.   
Aragorn did not take his eyes off the Nazgul as he parried his sword at it. "You can't," he replied. "You might destroy half of Gondor!"   
Goku continued sending blows and failing. He knew there was no other option. "Lead him away from the buildings!" he shouted to Aragorn. "Get him by the gates."   
Aragorn did not acknowledge the request but obliged anyway. He began to slowly work his way backwards as the Nazgul followed. He was no longer aiming, as he did not intend to land his sword in his opponent who had apparently not heard the plan. Goku joined Strider in leading the Nazgul to the gates. While Strider took it back, Goku led it to the left. They were growing weary and losing energy fast. "Are we close enough?" Goku asked.   
"Almost," Strider replied. "Just hang on a little longer!" The Nazgul struck a blow in Aragorn's stomach and he fell backwards, taking the opportunity to roll towards the gate. "Now Goku!" he screamed, in some degree of pain. Goku zanzookened back to his starting position and placed his hands together by his side. He moved his feet some distance apart and bent his knees slightly. "Ka……" he said calmly, controlling the energy he had left. "me………." The Nazgul approached Aragorn who was still on the ground. "ha……" It lifted its sword, hands placed together clasping it above the future king. "me…………." Letting out a laugh, it began the sword's short, but terrible, journey. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Strider rolled out the way again and dived to safety as the powerful blast approached and thrust him into northern wall. The Nazgul did not see it coming, but he felt it burn him as it encased his invisible body. He screamed from another realm, unable to see what was happening, yet painfully aware. He was not dead though. He could still move and was recovering fast. Legolas saw this and acted. He lifted his bow and aimed an arrow at the creature's chest. With accuracy only an elf can achieve, he let the arrow fly and saw it strike the beast in the heart. It could sense the arrow coming. It did not know where from though. It panicked, fearing for its life, sensing its final moments in both its realms. When the arrow struck, he felt relief. He lay down and accepted his fate, enjoying the long earned release he had deserved. Finally he could relax, no longer bound to the One Ring. No longer forced to serve its master. No one saw his smile as he passed away from Middle Earth forever.

Meanwhile, our pseudo-heroes had reached the tower of Barad-Dur. They gazed up to the top of the three hundred foot tall building, located in the exact centre of Mordor. Lightning struck from the raincloud that had settled over most of the land and broke loose a steel girder which proceeded to fall to the bridge that Buu and Hercule were now standing on. They jumped out the way as it landed, destroying a section of the bridge which fell into the plains below. Judging by the time it took to land, Hercule worked out that the ground was a long way beneath them. The gap in the bridge was too big to jump and Buu had already opened the huge iron doors before them. There was no turning back now.   
The champion hid by the doors as his companion entered alone. A bright light exploded on Buu's face upon entry and he shielded his eyes momentarily until they were used to it. When he opened them again, he was able to make out distinct shapes. His vision was still a bit blurry but improving fast. He could see a large throne in the centre of the room. Windows surrounded the walls, providing the light although there was no light outside for them to transport. They seemed, magically, to be the source of the brightness. Two more forms could be made out now. That of a man sitting on the throne and the other a second man, kneeling beside him. The former was, of course, Vegeta. He remained sitting. The latter, Khamul, stood up and walked towards Buu. Hercule put his head round the door to see what was going on.   
"Why do you disturb Lord Vegeta?" the Nazgul asked.   
Buu looked over his shoulder and realised Hercule was no longer there. The champion quickly returned to hiding once more upon seeing that his friend was looking for him.   
"Why are you here?" Khamul asked, sounding impatient.   
"Buu want shiny toy!" demanded Buu.   
The Nazgul was confused, though it obviously did not show.   
"I think I know what he wants," Vegeta interrupted. "Majin Buu. Long time no see," he said casually as he approached the pink monster with a grin on his face.   
"Me know you!" replied Buu.   
Vegeta let out a short, quiet laugh. That's right Buu," he replied. "But I'm not the same person you once did battle with." He pointed to the Ring that hung on a string around his neck. "I'm a lot stronger now."   
Majin Buu's expression remained the same.   
"What's wrong Buu?" Vegeta asked. "I thought you liked to fight strong people." His tone was more one of mocking than concern.   
"Where Buu's toy?" Buu asked.   
Vegeta made a signal to Khamul who retreated to another room. Buu waited anxiously. When the Black Rider returned, he held a dragonball in his hands.   
"Is this what you're looking for?" the Dark Lord asked. Buu's eyes opened. "I have five more if you're interested, Buu."   
Majin Buu reached out to take the dragonball, but Khamul pulled it back.   
"It will come at a cost." Vegeta smiled. "We each have something the other wants. You want this dragonball and I want to test my new strength. What better way to do that than by facing you again."   
Buu scowled at Vegeta. "Me destroy you! Me make you dead!" he exclaimed.   
"Ha ha ha!" laughed Vegeta. "I take it that means yes then." He tucked the Ring into his top and felt it become heavier. "Let's go Buu," he grinned as he flew out the tower.

Back in Gondor, the Nazgul were finding themselves heavily outnumbered. With only four remaining on the battlefield, having to fight against seven was becoming increasingly difficult. Nevertheless, they did not give up. Vegeta's arrogance had taught them that they were each more powerful than any of their foes and this did wonders for their confidence. It was, of course, a naïve perspective though. True, they were extremely powerful, moreso than most beings on the planet, but among their current enemies there was one who possessed a strength far superior to theirs. This of course was Goku. Under his calm exterior lay a hidden force he seldom revealed to anyone. A force he was now considering using to aid his current predicament. The Black Rider he had been fighting had disappeared shortly after Legolas' arrow had struck him. With only four remaining, he felt as confident as they did.   
But another existed with power greater than that of Goku's. His power was not in strength, however, and there was not much he could do to help them just now though he tried his hardest for he too was part of the battle. Gandalf raised his staff and sent his black rider flying into the eastern wall, near the gates where its friend had been destroyed. Their fight had been at a stalemate since it had started and was getting them nowhere as the Nazgul could do nothing against Gandalf's magic and the wizard nothing against the Nazgul's strength, bar keeping him at bay which was what he had been doing from the start. He needed help and now looked around for it. "Legolas!" he shouted, spotting the elf . "Join me. I cannot defeat it by myself."   
"What about Gimli?" the elf asked. The dwarf was still down and the closest Nazgul to him was ready to fight again.   
"I'll take care of him," came another voice. It was Aragorn's. The king had decided to repay Legolas for killing his Nazgul by returning the gesture. "Go aid Gandalf, Legolas," he told the elf. "No harm will come to Gimli."   
The elf agreed and ran to the wizard. As he made his way across the battlefield, Strider lifted Anduril and swung it at the Nazgul. It screeched loudly and stepped back in shock. Gimli smiled and slowly began to regain his strength.   
The newly formed duo of Gandalf and Legolas was not as effective as the wizard had hoped they would be. The combination of his magic and Legolas' accuracy failed to worry the Nazgul who simply deflected their attacks with his sword and accepted the fact that he was now powerless to attack. Once again, Gandalf realised this would do no good. He only hoped the others were doing better than he was. Legolas fired another arrow. Although the Nazgul was rooted to his spot by Gandalf's magic, it still managed to dodge it and remained unharmed. The elf muttered something in elfish and readied another arrow.   
Meanwhile, Krillan had been joined by Goku. The pair sent rapid blasts of energy to their opponent who simply deflected them with his hands, his weapon still being sheathed.   
"Haaaaaa!" it sneered at them. "My Lord Vegeta has warned me of your attacks. They are powerless against me!"   
Krillan scowled and rose his arm. "Destructo disk!" he yelled, sending the powerful energy blade towards the black rider who struck it away with his arm. It flew into the outer walls of Gondor and disintegrated. "You are very persistent," it hissed. "Lord Vegeta also warned me of that. It will do you no good."   
"We don't need advice from you!" Krillan shouted.   
"Leave it Krillan," advised Goku. "We'll find a way to defeat him eventually."   
The arrow missed the Nazgul once more and it was now capable of moving again. It laughed from behind its cloak and charged swordfirst at Legolas. The elf jumped out of it path, with speed and agility only his kind could achieve, and rolled to safety. It was then Gandalf had an idea.   
"Legolas! Fire another arrow!" he shouted. The elf drew his last arrow and obliged. He lined up his bow with the Nazgul's head and aimed perfectly before letting it go. As he did so, the wizard chanted and the arrow began to take on a new course. The Nazgul turned, confused, unaware as to where the object had gone. It circled high above his head and hid from it. Legolas took the opportunity to run across the ground and dive for another arrow he had fired previously. He grabbed it and fired it quickly at the Nazgul. It had no idea what was going on as it searched in vain for the first arrow, which had now vanished completely under Gandalf's spell. It was only when the second arrow struck it in the head that it realised it had been tricked. This was its final thought before it fell, dead, to the ground, becoming nothing more than Legolas' second kill of the day before disappearing, leaving nothing but the blood-stained arrow behind.

"Here's a good place to fight, Buu." Vegeta had taken them to a barren plain close to his tower. The puffy monster landed and faced the Dark Lord, not looking at all happy.   
"Well?" What are you waiting for Buu?" Vegeta asked. "I'll let you throw the first punch." The Ring, tucked away in his top, bulged and made itself heavy in disapproval.   
"Buu want toy!" demanded the marshmallow once again. "Buu want toy now!"   
Vegeta smiled evilly and folded his arms. "You'll get your toy Buu, but first you have to defeat me," he told him. "Now are you going to throw the first punch? I'm a busy man and I don't have all day."   
Buu lowered his eyebrows and steam came out of the many holes in his body.   
"Very well then," said Vegeta, impatiently. "Have it your way."   
He ran towards Buu, propelling himself off the ground with his foot. Disappearing mid-air, he zanzookened behind his bloated former nemesis and kicked him in the head.   
"I see you're as weak as ever then Buu," he grinned.   
Buu popped his head back into shape and scowled at Vegeta. "Me make you gone!" he screamed and swung a punch. It missed and the two fighters quickly engaged in hand to hand combat. The speed of Vegeta was Impressive even by Buu's standards and he had trouble keeping up. Eventually, he let his guard down and Vegeta landed the next punch. Buu recovered quickly and swung another of his own. It was easily blocked by Vegeta's arm and returned.   
"I'm not as weak as I used to be Buu," explained Vegeta. "The Ring has given me power far beyond my wildest dreams. You have no hope of defeating me."   
Hercule climbed carefully over the gap in the bridge that had been created by the falling girder. He was terrified of how far the ground was below him, knowing it would mean instant death since Buu was no longer there to save him. It had to be done though. He wanted to stay as close to his friend as possible, plus he knew the man in the black cape was still close by. He made his way along the edge of the gap and reached for the other side. By now, his only support was his right arm, which used all its strength to hold on for the sake of the rest of its body. "Just a little further!" he muttered to himself. With a final swing, he bravely let go and managed to grab onto the other side of the gap. His hand hung over the edge and he screamed as his eyes accidentally took in the sight of the fiery pits and jagged rocks below. The scream stopped when he remembered that the mysterious, cloaked man was still hovering around the area and he struggled to pull himself up. After finally managing it, he felt an overwhelming sense of achievement and took a break. The road ahead was long and dangerous. Two plans formed in his head at once. The first was a way to locate Buu, the other a way to fool the press into thinking he had done all the work. The latter took precedence over the former and he developed it in his head for a few minutes before setting off again. He stuck to the path of the bridge and gulped as he looked up to see Mount Doom some way ahead of him. 'I'll have to walk past that again' he thought to himself, then set off, keeping an eye out for explosions and sounds of a battle.

Piccolo ducked, avoiding a direct assault from his black rider. It grabbed for him and choked him hard. The Namek easily broke it grip with his neck muscles as the Nazgul landed with a thud.   
"I know your weakness," he said, standing over the cloaked beast. "Vegeta may have given you incredible power but your abilities are as amateur as they always were. You may have a stronger defence and more impressive attacks, but your bodies are as frail as they've always been. I know that now. It only takes an arrow in a vital organ to kill you, just like any other mortal."   
The Nazgul got to his feet and sneered at Piccolo. "You have no idea what you are dealing with," it said. "My abilities are far greater than yours." It jumped back and shot a small ki pulse at him. Piccolo needed only to tilt his head to avoid it. He saw another being fired by the Nazgul's free hand and caught it in his own. Smoke hissed from his hand and he unclenched his fist. "Is that the best you can do?" he asked.   
"I can do better," bluffed the Nazgul. It couldn't though. Vegeta had only the time to teach them basic energy attacks and it had just performed the strongest of those.   
"That was pathetic," laughed Piccolo. "This is a proper energy attack." He placed his hand to his head and focussed his energy. "Masenka-ho," he said calmly and let out a quick, spiralling beam. It flew towards the Nazgul and hit it in the head. Thinking fast, it raised its hands and forced the beam back. Piccolo fired more power into it and watched his opponent's feet skid back across the ground. "This is only for starters," he laughed. "My next trick will be for my friend, Gohan, who you killed the last time we met." He let loose all his energy and powered his Masenka-ho beam to the nth degree. It overwhelmed the Nazgul and sent him screaming into a nearby building. The Namek wasn't finished though. He picked the rider up and placed his hand to its chest. "Accept your fate," he said quietly as his energy rose once more. The Nazgul smiled to itself and kicked him in the midsection. "I'm not done yet," it hissed and ran to a safe distance. Piccolo lowered his eyebrows and planned his next attack, hell-bent on revenge.   
Goku and Krillan were having different, yet equally difficult problems. Several more energy attacks had been fired since Krillan's Destructo disk, but every one of them had missed. Krillan was growing weary and losing confidence. He was eager to end the fight soon and take a well-earned rest.   
"Goku, you need to go Super Saiyan!" he told his old friend.   
"No!" shouted Goku. "I want to do this without turning Super Saiyan. If it takes a Super Saiyan to defeat one of those guys, think what it'll take to defeat Vegeta!"   
"But you still have levels 2 and 3 Goku! Turn Super Saiyan and end this now!   
"Not until I have to, Krillan," he insisted.   
When they finished arguing, they noticed Legolas had joined them. The three gathered and stood side by side, Goku and Krillan on either side of the elf, kamehamehas at the ready, Legolas with an arrow pointed straight ahead. They aimed and fired.

Buu exploded on the rocks. The kick Vegeta had sent to his stomach had been delivered with enough force to form a crater when the creature hit the ground. So far the Saiyan had not been on the receiving end of a single attack and he planned to keep it that way. Buu got up quickly and flew back to Vegeta, fists at the ready. He swung for the Dark Lord once more and missed once more. Vegeta reversed the attack and punched Buu again, toying with him as he had proven by now that he could easily destroy the monster without much effort. He wanted to test his new powers to their limits, though, and for now he was merely warming up. Grabbing Buu by the arm, he swung him around his head many times, listening to the high pitched scream the attack produced. Eventually, when the pressure had become too much, the arm oozed itself off Buu's body and remained attached to Vegeta as the rest of the body swung into a sharp cliff. The Dark Lord laughed wholeheartedly and threw the arm away.   
"Come on Buu. I'll give you time to recover if you need it," he mocked. The creature left the hole he had made in the cliff and saw that his body was full of holes. This wasn't a problem, though. It was simply a matter of regenerating, which he did quickly. Then he saw his arm was missing. A new one oozed from his shoulder and he was whole again, ready to return to the fight, pointless as that was. Buu was too naïve and innocent to realise that he did not have a chance of winning this fight, but he kept fighting anyway.   
"Are you ready to fight again Buu?" Vegeta asked. "Good," he replied, anticipating the answer, and he threw a large ball of energy at his opponent who stretched out his arms and deflected it into the cliff behind him.   
"Buu make mean man dead!" declared the monster.   
"So you keep saying," grinned Vegeta as he folded his arms in arrogance.

The battle of Gondor raged on, now only three of the Nazgul remaining. Gandalf could not believe all three of Goku, Krillan and Legolas could have missed their target. The wizard sat by some steps, deciding merely to observe the fight rather than participate in it. Although he felt he could still be of use, something told him the others would be able to finish it by themselves. The rain way dying down as well which could only be a good sign. The gods had come to the same conclusion he had already made a while back; The fact that there was now hope. Whether or not the war could be won remained to be seen, but Gandalf was certain that his friends would leave victorious in this battle.   
Piccolo had replaced Legolas in the team of Goku and Krillan. The elf had gone to rejoin Gimli and Aragorn in their battle. The last Nazgul joined the one now fighting Goku, Krillan and Piccolo.   
"Back together at last!" Krillan remarked. "It feels right to be fighting alongside you guys again."   
"Shut up and fight!" shouted Piccolo, already throwing ki pulses at the Nazgul. Goku zanzookened behind one and punched it hard in the back. It turned to return the gesture but found there was no one there.   
"Over here!" called Goku. He stood a short distance away. The Nazgul ran to him but the Saiyan zanzookened back once again.   
"I want you to myself," he explained. The two were now separate from the others and fighting alone, unaided.   
"Looks like it's just us then," said Krillan, and for a second the Namek considered throwing the ki pulse he had formed at his partner instead.   
Gimli had fully regained his strength and was once again an active part of the battle. He swung his axe at the black rider who caught it in his hand and sent it back to its owner. Legolas felt in his quiver and found he was out of arrows again. He quickly searched around for more and ducked under the Nazgul to grab one he had spotted. Aragorn stood still for a moment, deep in thought.   
"Legolas, Gimli!" he called to his friends. "Keep it at bay. I shall return shortly."   
Neither the elf nor the dwarf acknowledged him, but carried on fighting, desperately. As they struggled to defend Aragorn's land, the future king ran deep into the city with one thought on his mind.

"You see Buu, you are fighting a losing battle. Haven't you realised that yet?" The Dark Lord stood over the broken body of the creature, grinning. "Remember our last battle Buu?" The question was rhetorical, but he paused for effect nonetheless. "I was forced to sacrifice my life in order to defeat you and still you would not die. When I found that out, I thought nothing could ever destroy you." His expression turned to one of rage. "Until Kakorat managed it." He clenched his fist hard, cracking his knuckles loudly. "But he is no longer the most powerful of the Saiyans," he continued, his smile growing again. "With the power of the Ring, I shall be the most powerful being in the entire universe. First I shall defeat you for good Buu. After that, Kakorat will die." He suddenly became very impatient. "I can't wait any longer. Fourteen years is long enough! I have to defeat Kakorat as soon as possible. I'm sorry to have to end our fight here Buu. You've been nowhere near a worthy opponent but I enjoyed toying with you. Goodbye!" He laughed maniacally and formed a Big Bang in his hands. Flying to the sky, he let it go and watched it cover Buu. As it exploded, he knew the monster was dead for good.   
Hercule looked to the sky in all directions. "What was that?" he asked himself. A loud explosion had occurred somewhere nearby. Finally he spotted the smoke from it and ran towards the source using courage he didn't know he had. "I'm coming Buu!" he shouted. The smoke wasn't far from where he was and he quickened his pace to get there sooner, eager to see how his friend was faring.   
The Ring shone brightly despite the lack of light. Only the fires and lava pits of Mordor provided light in this dark and barren land. The Dark Lord held the powerful object in his hand, unable to take his eyes off it. He knew the Ring had helped him defeat Buu and he was grateful for this. Especially as it could not argue with him or claim the victory for itself. He had never asked for or accepted help before in his life, but he liked teaming with the Ring, not because of the power it provided, but for an unknown reason. All he knew for sure now was that he could not live without it. That and the fact that he would soon defeat Kakorat as he had Buu. The battle had been quick and easy and his over-inflated ego now bulged, looking for space to grow. As he sat, staring at the Ring, the remains of the creature he had beaten lay around the battlefield. Little pink globules of Buu began to twitch and move slowly. The Dark Lord did not notice this happening, seduced by the Ring. The pieces of Buu moved towards one other, slowly combining and growing in size. When they were big enough, mini Buus formed from the mass of rubbery flesh and flew to the sky. They too combined to form four bigger Buus and it was then Vegeta noticed what was occurring behind his back. He turned and opened his mouth in shock. There was now a giant mass of Buu material folding and merging, forming the shape of the monster he had destroyed mere minutes ago. Finally, when the process was done, Buu hovered before him once more. He descended to the battlefield and stood next to the rock Vegeta was sitting on, looking not at all happy.

"Gimli, do not give up!" shouted Legolas, cheering on his friend. He noticed that the dwarf was tiring and knew he had to do something to aid his friend. His bow was useless now as most of the arrows he had started off with were now lost or destroyed and the Nazgul would have to be cleverly distracted before he could shoot without it noticing. He felt in his quiver and found he had just one arrow remaining of the few he had found on the battleground. Gimli's axe tried hard to find the Nazgul's flesh but it was too fast for the dwarfs weapon to connect.   
"I cannot hold him off for much longer, Legolas," the dwarf said. "Lead him elsewhere till I regain my strength."   
The elf thought about what he could do but to no avail. His options were severely limited. They had been fighting for fifteen minutes since Strider had left and given up hope of him returning. Legolas knew Strider would not give up, but wondered if he had encountered some other foe along the way. He looked to the direction the ranger had run off in and used his elf vision to search for him. A bright light came into view and he made out the shape of a man running with it. Suddenly he brightened himself.   
"Gimli, Aragorn has returned!" he yelled.   
"How long till he gets here?" asked the dwarf, between swings of his axe.   
"Five minutes I'd say," the elf replied.   
Meanwhile, Goku was having difficulty with the Nazgul he had led into a one-on-one battle. Neither had inflicted any serious damage and no signs were being shown of anything significant occurring. The Saiyan felt the time might be right to go Super Saiyan. Before making up his mind, he powered up another kamehameha and fired it as his opponent. Once again, the Nazgul deflected it into the hills. Goku lowered his eyebrows. He had faced enemies before who could dodge all his attacks, but none as weak as this black rider. He exploded in a burst of light and turned Super Saiyan.   
Even Gimli could now see the light that was running towards them now. Aragorn was back, and he carried a torch in his hand. The ranger ran quickly to the battle and called for Gimli and Legolas to stand out the way. As he neared the Nazgul, he held back the torch, then swung it hard at the rider. It immediately went up in flames.   
"Quick!" shouted Aragorn. "The rain will soon kill the fire! Strike now!"   
The Nazgul screeched loudly and started to run off towards the villages of Gondor, determined to do one last round of damage, despite the pain he was now in. It ran fast, away from his foes, approaching the nearest set of populated houses.   
"Legolas, shoot him now!" Aragorn shouted, desperate to defend his people. The elf reached into his quiver and drew his last arrow. He readied his bow, aimed and fired. It struck the Nazgul in the back, making it stumble, but not fall.   
"He is damaged," declared Aragorn. "I will finish the job."   
He ran to the Nazgul with great speed and plunged Anduril into it back. Removing the weapon, he turned and put it in the riders heart this time. As the flames died away, so too did the Nazgul. This time never to stand again.   
"Aragorn, look!" Legolas call to him. The ranger did not have time to enjoy his victory for from the dark clouds of Mordor flew two distinct shapes, those of dragons.   
"We are not staying here to be set alight and killed," remarked the remaining two Nazgul. "We shall return one day to finish you off, but for now there are more pressing matters to attend to."   
The dragons swooped down and picked up the riders, placing them on their backs as they flew off to the north.   
"Legolas, shoot them down," said Aragorn, but he could see the elf did not have any arrows left.   
"We have failed," remarked the king, hanging his head in shame. The others joined him, wondering what had just happened. Goku had returned to his normal Saiyan form now and stood next to Piccolo and Krillan.   
"We can go after them if you want," the Saiyan suggested.   
"No," said Gandalf who had now risen from his seat and joined them. "You have a more important task. You must travel to Mordor and face Vegeta while he is alone."   
"What about the black riders?" asked Piccolo.   
"They are headed to Rohan unless I am mistaken. I fear the worst for the horse riders; the Nazgul ride dragons only when they intend to cause serious damage."   
"But we cannot let them suffer," cried Aragorn. "Not when we have prior knowledge."   
"You are right, Aragorn," agreed the wizard. "We must warn King Theoden before they get there. They are unsure of the way to Rohan and they can locate it only by their senses of smell and hearing. If we go now we will arrive before them."   
"Then I am ready to leave," said Aragorn.   
"As am I," said Legolas.   
"And me," said Gimli.   
"We can go too," said Krillan, bravely volunteering himself, though the real reason for his enthusiasm was that of getting as far from Mordor as he could.   
"This battle does not concern you," said Gandalf. "You and Piccolo must join Goku on his quest. That is your fate."   
"I was afraid of that," said Krillan.   
"Good luck Goku. We must leave now to defend Rohan, but you have a more important task ahead of you. Do not fail. The fate of Middle Earth rests in your hands now." The wizard motioned for Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli to follow and they made their way to the stables where they could find suitable transport. Goku, Krillan and Piccolo were alone now, left to face the terror that lay ahead in Mordor.   
"I'm ready to go if you guys are," said Goku. The others nodded and they made their way to the tower of Barad-Dur.

"How did you get back?" asked the Dark Lord. "I destroyed you! I watched you die!"   
"Buu can heal," replied Buu.   
Vegeta and the Ring both became extremely angry. "How can I kill you then?" he shouted.   
"Buu_ can't _be killed," replied the creature.   
"Of course you can!" shouted Vegeta in a fit of rage. "I watched Kakorat do it!" He let out a loud scream and kicked Buu hard. The marshmallow caught his foot and swung him round before catching and then punching him into the same cliff he, himself, had been thrown into earlier. He did not even give Vegeta time to recover. Instead, driven by a fury of his own, Buu sent out a powerful pink blast that destroyed the cliff and damaged the Dark Lord further.   
"Time for Big Power!" he announced and moved his arms apart, creating a giant energy bubble as he did so. It grew to twice his height and twice his width before he let it go, sending it towards Vegeta. It hit, sending the Saiyan flying across the plain. To end the attack, Buu tore a part of his flesh off and threw it at his opponent. It wrapped itself around him as he struggled to break loose but found he was trapped.   
"H…how could I have let you do this to me again?" Vegeta asked, rhetorically.   
"Buu want toy!" demanded the marshmallow.   
"Not yet Buu," smiled Vegeta. "I'm far from defeated."   
The Ring grew heavy and shone brighter as the Dark Lord broke free of the fleshy rope in a huge explosion. He somersaulted over his head and landed on one knee, his hands placed together. "Final Flash!" he shouted and powered up the attack. Buu spat large domes of energy at Vegeta, forcing him to suspend the Final Flash in order to dodge them. He avoided every one as Buu finally decided it was pointless continuing.   
"Where you go?" he asked, seeing that Vegeta was nowhere to be seen.   
Hercule saw the large pink domes that exploded on the ground. His eyes widened to an abnormal length, at the verge of leaving their sockets. "I didn't know he could do that!" he said to himself from the rock he was hiding behind. He had reached the battle several minutes ago but still did not know who was winning. It was only when he heard a loud explosion that he would pop his head out from the rock to see if it was anywhere near him. When he found it wasn't, he would quickly hide again, scared to let Vegeta spot him. "Surely it must be over soon," he told himself. "No one can defeat Buu. No one!"   
Vegeta emerged behind his opponent and drove his elbow into Buu's shoulder. Buu screamed and turned, catching Vegeta's fist as it swung at him. The Saiyan merely grinned and drove his foot into Buu's stomach, sending him to the ground once more.   
"You ready to give up Buu?" he asked, mockingly.   
"Buu fight more!" declared the monster as he rose and flew towards Vegeta again. They engaged in more hand to hand combat, kicking and punching each other uncontrollably. It wasn't until Vegeta's last punch connected with its target that the two fighters separated, as Buu was hurtled towards the ground.   
"Now it's time to finish you for good!" announced Vegeta. He placed his hands together and finally formed his Final Flash. The Ring glowed, sending its energy into the attack as it grew. The most powerful ball of energy Vegeta had ever seen now rested in his hands. It had five times the power of a Spirit Bomb twice its size and still he let it grow. It grew to three times the size it had been when Vegeta had realised just how powerful it was, but he knew even his arrogance had to end somewhere; It was time to let it go. On the ground, Buu lay panting, struggling to get to his feet. He heard laughter as the large ball of energy was released from the Dark Lord's hands, electricity circling it, a giant tail of energy behind it, never ending as Vegeta pumped more power into it. Just before it reached Buu, a small wave of sheer power was sent through it quickly. It reached the giant ball and exploded upon impact. The ball was crushed between the shockwave and Buu. The monster's scream could barely be heard as every last molecule in his body disintegrated. Vegeta watched, unable to take his eyes off the beautiful attack he had created. Masses of green and yellow spiralling explosions emanated from it as the blue electricity flashed in an attempt to avoid it. The pride he felt at creating such a perfect attack was amazing. It was better than the pride he would feel after defeating ten Buus. If the Ring could smile, it would have as he looked down at it. It was infinitely more powerful than him but had finally decided to accept its new owner and share its power with him, becoming one with the new Dark Lord. "The Ring is mine!" screamed Vegeta, realising what was occurring. The smoke cleared, leaving no trace of Buu. Only a large crater remained and a terrified man shaking behind a rock. He flew to the battlefield and searched for any last remains of Buu. There were none of course. Buu was gone for good and he knew how incredible he would feel when it finally sunk in that he had destroyed the monster. He took to the sky, looking over all his land with a more intense pride.   
"Finally I am the most powerful being in the universe," he said to himself, but suddenly felt a twitch in his head; His wasn't the only power present. He could feel one more. Someone was very close to him now and getting closer by the second.   
"That's right Vegeta," came a voice from behind him. "I'm here to destroy you for the good of Middle Earth."   
"Kakorat!" shouted the Dark Lord. "I didn't hear you come in. You're very welcome here of course. Stay, enjoy yourself, and don't forget to die horribly on the way out!" He smiled an evil smile as he faced the being whose power had plagued him for so many years. Goku stared back into his eyes with a look that said 'You have never been able to defeat me Vegeta…and you never will.'

So the Nazgul have flown to Rohan, followed by Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. Meanwhile, Goku, Krillan and Piccolo have flown to Mordor to face the Dark Lord who has just finished his battle with Buu. How will they fare against the most powerful being in the universe? Find out in Chapter 13 where the long awaited battle is finally fought wuth Middle Earth at stake.


	13. Chapter13: A long expected battle pt1

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Chapter 13: A long, expected battle pt1

Middle Earth darkened as night began to fall, but Mordor was covered by a darkness of its own, brightened only by the flames of it's fiery pits of magma that burst into light with the screams of the dead as a disobedient orc who had been foolish enough to be unable to carry out his orders was cast down as punishment. The smell of rotten flesh and boiling blood filled the air and rose as steam. Those with a keen sense of smell could distinguish it as man blood and those whose sense of smell was keener still, or perhaps were once friends of Gondor, could tell it was once the blood of men who fought bravely for their country. The few remaining orcs had carried some of the bodies back to watch them burn for their amusement. Their young captain, Faramir, was among the corpses. His blood now contributed to the putrid smell of the evil land and his flesh was blackened and molten. His blood boiled and rose to meet Goku's nose as the Saiyan hovered mere metres away from his nemesis, staring deep into his treacherous eyes. He alone could avenge their deaths and alone he would try.   
Down below his friends hid from sight and masked their power levels so that the Dark Lord could not sense them. Whilst looking for a safe place to hide and watch the action, they stumbled across an unexpected friend. The man sat behind a large rock, clutching firmly to it as his entire body shook nervously. He whimpered quietly and seemed rooted to the spot, unable to move by some spell or his own fear. When he felt a cold tap on his shoulder it was all he could do not to scream.   
"Hercule, what are you doing here?" asked Krillan.   
The Champion breathed heavily and did not speak till he caught his breath once more. "I…I came with Majin Buu," he finally replied. "We came here to face…to face…him!"   
He pointed at Vegeta who was hovering, cross-armed, some distance above them.   
"Majin Buu?" Piccolo asked. "What business did he have here?"   
Hercule turned and nervously played with his thumbs. "I kinda tricked him into fighting that guy," said the champ. "I'm sorry!" he added, terrified of the Namek.   
"It's okay," replied Piccolo, unexpectedly. "You did the right thing. Majin Buu is strong and he bought us time. Where is he now anyway?"   
"He…he…"Hercule could not find the words because doing so would force him to have to remember the last moments of his friend.   
"Was he…defeated?" Krillan asked, nervously.   
Hercule nodded.   
Piccolo was disheartened, but not surprised. For a brief moment he had hoped that Buu was still alive and had managed to put up some kind of fight against Vegeta. But now as he looked at the Saiyan and saw he was unscathed, without so much as a bruise on his body, hope faded from his heart. He wished he had the power to help Goku and fight alongside him, but he knew he could never last a minute against Vegeta.   
Krillan shuddered and feared the worst. He felt like crying out to Goku but stopped, realising how fatal this would be. Instead he turned to Piccolo for advise and waited for the Namek to give it. After a short time, he did.   
"Our last hops is the dragonballs," he said at last. "If we can find them we can wish for the Ring to be destroyed."   
"The Ring?" asked Hercule, not wanting to be excluded from the conversation, much as he would want to be excluded from any plan Piccolo could conceive."   
"Don't ask," Piccolo replied. "The Dragonballs are here," he continued.   
"The Dragonballs?" asked Hercule.   
"Shut up," said Piccolo. "Anyway, as I was saying…Vegeta has six of the seven dragonballs here in his kingdom. If we can find them while he's being distracted by Goku, all we have to do is get the seventh ball and make our wish."   
"Easier said than done! interrupted Krillan. "How do you suppose we find the dragonballs in this place without a radar?"   
The Namek's eyes said it all.   
"I'll go look for them," said Krillan through narrow eyes. His body hung lazily as he trudged off to begin his search.   
"Don't slouch, Krillan!" Piccolo called after him. As the small man left, mumblings of 'Why am I always the dragonball finder?' could be heard till he was out of sight.   
"Will he be okay?" Hercule asked with mock concern.   
"He should be," replied Piccolo. "He's been in worse scrapes than this."

Finally Vegeta spoke. The two Saiyans had been locked in each other's gaze for what seemed an eternity before the Prince decided it was time for action. The fate of Middle Earth rested on the words that were about to come out of his mouth.   
"Shall we do this then?" he asked. "I'm tiring of your presence. Hurry up and agree to fight or I'll show you the true extent of my power."   
"You've been threatening to do that for years Vegeta," Goku replied. "You're never gonna do it though, you don't have the guts."   
Vegeta scowled through narrow eyes and tried to lower his eyebrows further than was humanly (or Saiyanly) possible. When he found they would not lower any further without blinding himself it only served to fuel his anger.   
"Don't tempt me, Kakorat," he said. "Even holding back I'm stronger than the full extent of my power was just a week ago."   
Goku grinned and tightened his wristband, signalling that he was ready to fight. "Don't talk till you've faced a Super Saiyan 3, Vegeta!" he replied.   
"Don't make me laugh, Kakorat!" said the Dark Prince. "Even as a regular Saiyan I'm more powerful than anything you could ever hope to achieve." The Ring sparkled around his neck where it was safely tucked away under his vest. "So, are you ready for the fight to end all fights?" he asked, arms and legs poised in battle mode.   
"Yeah!" Goku replied, adjusting his body in a similar manner.   
"Sure you don't want to turn into a Super Saiyan first to make the battle a little more even?" mocked Vegeta.   
"I'm good," replied Goku. "Let's get this over with. You've terrorised Middle Earth long enough!"   
With that last comment he threw a punch. Vegeta dodged it with a smile and they engaged in what would be the start of the most epic battle anyone had seen for a long time.

Hercule watched as Krillan journeyed deeper into the heart of Mordor, working his way slowly toward the dark tower of Barad Dur. He had been there not long ago, face pressed against the iron doors as his friend Buu bravely entered to face the Dark Lord. He shivered as he imagined what might happen to Krillan if he too entered the doors, but felt better as he remembered that Vegeta was no longer in the tower.   
Krillan looked from side to side as he walked at a normal pace along the barren plains. There was a bridge ahead that led to a tower and he felt sure the dragonballs would be there if they were anywhere in this evil place. It was the centrepoint of the land and the tallest structure he could see for miles. More importantly though, it was nearby; Krillan could not be bothered to walk a long distance on his mission, especially when such an obvious location for his goal was right under his nose. He could have flown to the tower in a minute but felt the need to walk instead, more out of curiosity of exploration than fear, not that he didn't feel a deep fear inside of him. Piccolo was now out of sight and the start of the bridge was before him. As he stepped onto it he knew he was about to embark on a dangerous quest, alone.

The two powerful Saiyans locked their limbs in combat, each showering the other with a barrage of punches strong enough to take down a herd of buffalo. They were too strong to feel it though, each being considerably tougher than several hundred herds of buffalo, so the punches and kicks did not affect them. They flew symmetrically around a fixed point, always returning to clash in collisions that sent earthquakes throughout Mordor in a ripple effect that emanated from their bodies. Goku was well aware of how futile this exercise was, as was Vegeta, but it was necessary to learn the hidden strength each possessed in order to plan the remainder of the battle. So far both were doing a fantastic job of hiding their true power, much to their respective disappointments.   
"Are you done warming up, Kakorat?" Vegeta asked, a hint of frustration showing in his voice.   
"Not yet," replied Goku. He could sense his opponent's frustration and wanted it to grow; it increased the chances of Vegeta making a fatal error mid-battle that could benefit him greatly.   
"Well I am!" Vegeta shouted. He flew some distance away and sent a barrage of ki pulses toward Goku, watching as the weaker Saiyan tried his best to avoid them. This was no an easy task though; Vegeta's speed and accuracy had increased dramatically since their last encounter, as Goku was now starting to realise. 'He wasn't bluffing!' he thought to himself, surprised due to the fact that Vegeta almost always overestimated the extent of his power. He raised his elbow to shield his face and was hurtled back into a wall as a stray pulse struck him with incredible force. Dust exploded in all directions as he fell from the indentation his body made in the cliff-face, free-falling to the ground.   
"Noooo!" he screamed as he came to once more and stopped mid-air. "You can't be that powerful!" he shouted with an anger he rarely lost control of. "Kamehamehaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!"   
The concentrated energy attack flew from his hands and enclosed Vegeta in its light as it exploded on him. However, the Saiyan remained unharmed. As the light cleared, his form could be clearly seen against the flames of Mordor as he stood, arms folded, grinning at his opponent. "Are you ready to go Super Saiyan yet?" he mocked.   
Goku snared with gritted teeth at his opponent as an incredible aura grew around his body and quickly turned to a golden light. With one more loud explosion he turned Super Saiyan.

Meanwhile Krillan had reached the huge iron doors of Barad Dur. They shone brightly in the light of Mordor's flames as shadows bounced off them in haunting patterns. A crack of light emanated from between the two doors and shadows escaped this too, sending a chill down Krillan's spine. He knew he had an important task to complete, though, and this thought alone brought him to pry open the doors and enter the bright darkness.   
At once a burst of light enveloped him and took him by surprise, blinding his eyes and momentarily startling him. When it cleared he entered and immediately noticed the over-sized throne that belonged to the Dark Lord. Ten foot high stained glass windows created light and made its focal point on Krillan's face, laughing silently as it did so and masking the remainder of the room until he was used to it. When he finally was, instruments of torture were revealed to him, used as ornaments to decorate the foul hall. Battle-axes stained with the blood of men, elves and dwarves alike hung from the walls, alongside scythes, scimitars and spears. These all dripped fresh blood in pools on the dusty floor where lay the organs of the dead in rotting heaps. This was not a pleasant room at all for any man to be in. It did not look at all welcoming and seemed to instil in its beholder the fear that soon their organs would join one of the many collections scattered about the floor. That is how Krillan now felt as his courage waned.   
There was a door to the right, the only apparent exit to the room other than the main doors, unless the never-ending ceiling did end at some unimaginable height. The latter option did not matter, however, as flight was the last thing on Krillan's mind right now. Something told him to use the newly discovered door and he followed the instinct. He opened it and jumped as it closed behind him a little too fast for his liking. Thankfully, the room was void of life before he entered it. It was not as tall as the previous room, but just as big in all other dimensions. Paintings hung from the walls and not a drop of blood could be seen in this more conventionally decorated hall. There was, however, something more pleasing than that to Krillan's eye. The room could have been decorated with thousand year old rotting corpses for all he cared, for in the centre of the room, on six golden pedestals, sat the dragonballs. His eyes gleamed with a light even the one Ring would find hard to emulate, as he held back from shouting for joy and ran towards them.

"I knew you couldn't defeat me without turning Super Saiyan," laughed Vegeta. "Even that won't be enough though." The Ring lightened itself in approval of the statement, happy now to take a back seat and let its new master claim the power for his own. It hung obediently around his neck and made no effort to escape from the confines of Vegeta's vest. This owner was the most powerful It had ever had and he also knew best how to use the gift It had given to him. The Ring and Vegeta were the perfect partnership; not immortal yet, not indestructible yet, but still the greatest force Middle Earth had ever seen. Now they were teaming up to defeat Goku, the last obstacle in their path to immortality. Once they had all seven dragonballs their wish would be granted and nothing would ever be able to stop them. At the moment, though, it did not look like anything could anyway.   
Goku scowled at his old nemesis, wondering where his new-found power could have come from. He was not completely taken in by the story of the Ring, unwilling to believe that an object so small could possess such an incredible force. Also, he could not see the Ring on Vegeta anywhere. These thoughts were useless though, as he soon came to realise. All that mattered now was attack, and that is what he did next. With blinding speed, he flew to Vegeta and threw a 'lucky' punch. It was the first he had landed since the start of the fight but did not move the Dark Lord. Vegeta stood, motionless, the grin still on his face, not having been wiped off from the powerful blow. He ran his hand across his mouth and returned the gesture more forcefully. Goku stumbled back mid-air and recovered, realising the landing of the punch had been intentional; Vegeta wanted to show him just how strong he had become, and he was doing a good a job of it thus far.   
The fight got underway once more, both fighters having ended the brief period of intimidation. Goku engaged Vegeta in another bout of hand-to-hand combat, throwing punches and kicks towards him and blocking those returned. Neither Saiyan landed a blow but Goku was having the harder job keeping up. He waited for the stage in Vegeta's attack pattern where all blows could be avoided, and took the opportunity to zanzooken behind him, driving his elbow into the Saiyan's back. This too proved fruitless. Vegeta didn't even flinch as he quickly turned, grinned, and cloned his opponent's performance, sending him flying towards the ground.   
"I don't mean to alarm you, Kakorat," he shouted, "But I've decided to turn Super Saiyan as well. Just for fun you'll understand. I wish to test my new power to an extent I haven't tried before."   
Goku struggled to get up as Vegeta raised his arms and brought them down in a spectacular burst of light. His hair was golden and a similar coloured glow surrounded his body, same as always. But it was different this time; he may have looked the same, but he felt different to anyone who had the ability to sense his power. The Ring glowed too and supported the Dark Lord's decision. It transferred its power into his hand as he sent a small ki pulse to meet Goku as the Saiyan rose again. He turned to meet it as it exploded on his face, much to all but Vegeta's despair.

Krillan looked at the dragonballs with a look of amazement in his eyes. He had not seen one since his adventure in Isengard with Gohan, but now he was looking at six of the seven being displayed in a royal manner. They glowed with an orange light that shone throughout the room and overpowered the candles that were already being used to light it, each looking magnificent in the others presence. Krillan never ceased to be amazed at how each dragonball could look more beautiful beside another. Each one's beauty increased exponentially when placed beside more of them, and now he was looking at all but one, the one they had secured safely at Dende's lookout. He reached out and picked the five star dragonball up. It felt light in his hands, lighter than Vegeta would have guessed when he had picked it up. Krillan put it in his pocket and laughed.   
"That was easy!" he exclaimed. It was a little early for optimism, however; as he reached for another, Khamul entered the room.   
The black rider stood before Krillan and raised his glove covered black hand to him. It looked dark and sinister as it spoke from behind its hooded face in a deep, haunting voice.   
"What are you doing with Lord Vegeta's dragonballs?" it asked.   
Krillan was not sure what he should say. The Black Rider's power level was as invisible as its features so he had no idea if he was strong enough to defeat it. Physical confrontation was undesirable at any rate and had to be avoided unless necessary. His mission was to retrieve the dragonballs and he would do whatever was needed of him to complete it.   
"I'm...uh…taking them…?" he said nervously.   
"Why?" asked Khamul.   
"Umm…good question," answered Krillan.   
"Put them back," Khamul commanded.   
"No," replied Krillan.   
"Why?" asked Khamul.   
Suddenly Krillan found his courage again. His annoyance at Khamul's obvious and unintelligent line of questioning had angered him to the point where physical confrontation with the Rider was now very desirable. After all, it was hard for him to fear something so apparently stupid.   
"I'm taking these for the good of Middle Earth! They don't belong here with Vegeta!" he shouted as his body moved into his standard attack formation.   
"I'm under orders from Lord Vegeta not to let anyone touch the dragonballs," Khamul replied. "If you don't put them back, I'll be forced to destroy you!"   
Krillan decided to test that theory. He picked up another dragonball and watched as Khamul took a step closer. Then proceeding to put it in his pocket, he saw the Nazgul approach him quicker, its invisible face giving the impression of a menacing visage. Krillan stepped back and somersaulted over himself as the Rider grabbed for him and missed. They both repeated the pattern before the former felt a strange sensation occur inside his head and turned. For a moment there had been another life force in the room, small but significant. This was a force he had felt before and he knew before he could remember who it belonged to that he did not want to feel it again. 'Saruman!' he thought to himself and turning, noticed the dragonballs were gone.

Meanwhile the People's Champ trembled against the rock he had been hiding behind for hours. He felt alone despite the unhelpful presence of Piccolo which did nothing to calm his nerves as the Namek's were as still as the rest of his body. He was reminded of the Cell Games and how courageous he had been, throwing Android 16's head to the young boy, risking detection by Cell. That was without a doubt his shining moment of glory in his own mind. Of course, staying to watch the rest of the Cell Games from behind a rock, similar to the one he was cowering behind now, had also been courageous in his opinion. After all, so many watched from home, but he was there in person risking his own life for no good reason other than the chance to fool millions into believing he was something he wasn't, and still isn't.   
His body shook now, much like it did throughout the duration of that tournament all these years ago. He sneaked a peek at the man who was now doing his job for him. The man seemed strangely familiar. Hercule was sure he had seen him somewhere before, possibly on more than one occasion. The Champ wasted little time on the thought though; there was cowering to be done and he could see Piccolo wasn't going to do it.

The battle raged on, greater and more powerful than ever. Once Goku had risen again, he flew back to Vegeta and quickly zanzookened behind him once more. As the Saiyan turned to find him, Goku transported back and sent a kamehameha at him. It hit, much to the surprise of both of them, but the impact was too small to do any major damage. Strength had to be sacrificed for speed in this battle, at least on Goku's part, but would that be enough to finish Vegeta?   
The Dark Lord circled Goku, punching rapid ki blasts in his general direction. All either missed or were deflected. With renewed confidence in the small turn of events, Goku knew it was time to regain his former strength and fight dirty. Reaching into his pocket he took out a sensu bean, his second last, and swallowed it, immediately feeling the effects of the strange food. Blood began to pump faster and harder through his veins as his muscles realised the true extent of their power once more and jumped into action. As the rest of his body followed suit, he flew to Vegeta and landed a mighty punch in the Saiyan's mid-section. The Dark Lord stumbled back, winded momentarily, then delivered a punch of his own. It was blocked and returned with a kick to the same area, of equal pressure. Vegeta gasped in both pain and astonishment, but it wasn't long before his shock turned into anger. He exploded in fury and allowed himself to turn Super Saiyan 2. His adversary smiled and allowed him also, pleased at the measures he had forced Vegeta to resort to. His grin remained on the inside but even showing the greatest amount of restraint, he felt the need to subtly boast.   
"I see the Ring has given you strength Vegeta, but what about your skills? Have they improved?"   
Vegeta snarled and answered the question, despite its rhetorical nature.   
"Yes!" he lied. "What the Ring has taught me you can never know! Who trained you Kakorat? Your Grampa? Master Roshi? Kami? King Kai? What use are the skills you learnt from them compared to the techniques I spent my entire life learning on our home planet, and continued to apply to create new attacks? You don't even use half of these attacks! You rely solely on the Kamehameha and other such inferior techniques. Can you really hope to defeat all that I have achieved _and_ the Ring?"   
"You've strayed off the subject Vegeta," Goku answered. "Those aren't skills you're talking about. Those are techniques, as you said yourself. Can you monitor the strength and patterns in an opponent's attacks though? Can you plan ahead and create tactics worthy of winning a fight even if they don't? I don't think you have the patience Vegeta!"   
There was no verbal reply Vegeta could think to answer his nemesis. His mind was too filled with rage to bother as he prove Goku's theory by running headfirst back into the battle with his fists. They were easily blocked, giving Goku reason to gloat once more. This time, however, he didn't.

Both doors to the hall were open but Krillan could sense Saruman's life force growing further from the back exit. The Nazgul was confused and did not know what had happened to the dragonballs, but he wasted no time trying to figure it out. Instead he ran for the door he had come through, looking in every direction at once.   
"Thieves! Usurpers!" he screamed on his journey, and Krillan could hear his cries diminish as he travelled deeper into the tower.   
"Some trick of elvish magic or an unknown sorcery had crossed my guard! It shall not be allowed to leave unnoticed!" was the final cry that could be heard from the hall that was not now so bright since the disappearance of the dragonballs.   
"Wait for me!" was Krillan's cry as he chased the Nazgul.   
With his superior speed and ability to track beings by their life force, it was not long before Krillan reached his target. The Rider was charging down the corridors of the lower levels of Barad-Dur, looking all ways at once for his own target. He sensed another presence and stopped in his tracks to turn, but it was only Krillan.   
"Why are you following me?" it asked.   
Krillan was not happy at the tone of its voice. He had chased the Nazgul primarily to help it as they shared the same goal. He knew since Saruman was enemy to them both it made no sense to make enemies of each other, but apparently his new 'friend' didn't share his view.   
"You have no idea where you're going!" exclaimed Krillan. "How do you expect to find the thief without a proper plan?"   
The Nazgul's anger grew quickly as it neared Krillan, looming menacingly over him. "And I suppose you have one, do you?" it asked.   
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do," Krillan announced. "Follow me!"   
And with that Khamul needed no further clarification. He followed Krillan on through the corridors and whichever way he took from then on.   
"Where are we going?" Khamul asked after a short time of running, seemingly pointlessly, through the tower. He was beginning to lose patience and now lacked the confidence he had blindly allowed himself to have in Krillan's plan. "We've been running in circles!" he snarled.   
'I know,' thought Krillan to himself. 'Why though? I'm following Saruman's life force every step of the way. I feel we're gaining on him yet we're repeating our steps now.'   
"Answer me!" demanded the Nazgul, stopping Krillan's train of thought. They both stopped and had a short rest.   
"I know who he is," Krillan explained. "I don't know how he found the dragonballs or why he wants them but I know how dangerous he is and which direction he's heading in. If we don't follow him faster he'll soon be undetectable."   
"Explain," demanded the Nazgul, but Krillan did not. He began to run again, followed by Khamul as he picked up Saruman's trail. Once more the power became stronger and felt closer as they headed into a new area they had not visited before. Now Khamul could smell the scent of the dragonballs, but he did not tell Krillan. The latter knew how close they were anyway and did not need the Rider's help. He stopped again and listened.   
"The culprit's through that door," he whispered so that only Khamul could hear him.   
'I know,' thought the Rider to itself.   
"On the count of three. One…two…three!"   
They opened the door and ran into a large room, much like the hall where the dragonballs had been held captive by Vegeta. In it stood a withered man, hunched over himself and cloaked with a long, tattered robe. He looked round and immediately recognised Krillan. There was no despair in his look though, nor fear. Only sorrow and misery could be seen in his eyes. Krillan looked into those eyes and confirmed his suspicion. It was Saruman all right, and he began to feel hatred and pity all at once.

Goku outstretched his arms and calmly powered up to the next level of Super Saiyan. He felt confident he could defeat Vegeta in normal Super Saiyan form but could not allow himself to take the risk since a misjudgement could increase Vegeta's own confidence and inspire him to power down or worse yet, up; if that was possible.   
They collided and began a session of violent blows that carried them from the plains to the nearby cliffs to the mountains at the very borders of Mordor. As they approached the latter, both Saiyans felt the darkness subside and the rain become softer on their skin. This was not a luxury they could get used to, however, as Goku had to be careful not to take the fight any closer to Gondor. With a quick turn he kicked Vegeta off him and smacked him hard into the valleys below, at the foot of the long mountain range but on the right side of Mordor. Once more the darkness took them and once more the flames rose to solve that problem. Goku stole a glance at Middle Earth before returning to the battle. It looked so calm and peaceful, but why shouldn't it? The only evil that remained outwith the Realm of Mordor comprised of two of the three remaining Nazgul who were now headed to Rohan. He could see Rohan though he did not know it. He could see Gondor too, before him, and far off to the north-east, the vast forest of Mirkwood. To the west of the north lay the Shire, home to the hobbits, few of which he had made acquaintance with. And beyond that more elvish land and the Gray Havens. All this he took in and allowed to calm his soul before turning again to the East to finish his task. Vegeta had risen and was angrier than ever now. He let out a large blast as he flew to Goku, hoping the three would meet at the same time.   
The blast was approaching fast and had to be dealt with first. Goku deflected it and turned back to Vegeta, who was closer and had a punch readied. It landed, sending Goku to the valleys where he proceeded to skid across to the plains where the battle had started. Vegeta kicked him along whenever he would slow down in his journey. With an unexpected surge of energy, he jumped to his feet and resumed the fight. He powered up another kamehameha and sent it towards the Dark Lord who sent a small pulse to collide with it. The plan worked and nothing happened, bar a small explosion. Hidden behind the dust, Vegeta powered up another blast. Goku did likewise, though not a kamehameha this time. This was a smaller, faster beam that equalled Vegeta's in strength. They met and came to a standstill as each Saiyan pumped more energy into his attack. Goku was weakening fast and felt his body being forced back as Vegeta prove the stronger of the two. The latter laughed and sent a sudden bolt of electricity through his beam as the Ring glowed brighter and channelled more of Its power into Its master. It overpowered Goku, who was sent flying across the land only to land in a crater formed by his own body.   
'Only…one more…bean,' he thought to himself, but the argument in his mind was over before it had started. He could not move and was breathless. The last attack had drained him of the last of his energy and if he did not take the bean now the fight would be over as soon as Vegeta found him. He struggled to reach into his pocket and retrieve the last sensu bean. As he put it in his mouth, he knew it was now or never. If he could not defeat the Dark Lord now, he never would.   
Vegeta had found him and approached slowly giving him the time he needed to perform his final transformation. With an explosion that took out the nearest cliffs and sent a shock-wave through all the surrounding magma chambers and fiery lakes, Goku powered up to his maximum, his hair growing to several times its normal length in place of his eyebrows, the golden aura circling his body becoming infinitely brighter and his muscles reflecting the strength they now possessed, as he became a Super Saiyan 3.


	14. Chapter13: A long expected battle pt2

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Chapter 13: A long, expected battle pt2

The three stood in a circle, each facing their new enemy with a look of contempt. Saruman's face was not at all menacing though. Through his withered visage and old man disguise could be seen a pitiable inner sanctum that inspired sympathy in its beholder as it was now doing to Krillan. Khamul did not fall for the spell though, he was too far gone from humanity to feel compassion any longer. His face could not be seen but the expression on it was clear as he growled at the traitor, Saruman.   
"What would you have an old man do for you?" Saruman now asked. "I have little but I am in your service for as long as it is needed of me."   
"You cannot trick me, Saruman!" answered Khamul. "Stormcrow I name you as once you named many who had the misfortune to cross your path. You have no service to provide that I can make use of."   
Saruman turned to him slowly and smiled. "I realise that," he said with a soft voice. "I can not help what I am or what I have become. With the loss of my power I have withered quickly and soon shall start to decay slowly as my conquered land has. Can you not forgive me for my misgivings now that it is in the past?"   
"You betrayed me and my Lord!" came the reply. "You promised us your service once before and planned to take the Ring for your own use!" the anger was clear in the Nazgul's voice and it did not look as if Saruman could persuade him through any means, but he still had his voice and with that the power to manipulate and change both mind and heart as he now planned to do.   
  
"I am in service of the Ring," came the new reply. "Not Sauron. My service is extended only to the Ringbearer, and that is now Lord Vegeta."   
Saruman smiled in private; he had expected this answer and waited for it to come, to set his trap. "Many others have bore the Ring," he said with a hint of malevolence in his haggard voice. "You did not serve them as you now serve your new Dark Lord."   
It was hard for Khamul to form a reply to this. He had been caught in Saruman's web.   
"You seek only to serve power," continued the wizard. "You have no loyalties whatsoever Khamul. You serve out of fear and desire for power and you cannot claim otherwise."   
"That may be true," Khamul said unwillingly, "but I have my own power now. Lord Vegeta gave it to me for my own use and now it is wholly mine."   
"Yes, but it is not as great as his."   
Khamul remained invisible but his anguish was evident from his now drooped posture and inability to respond. This is what Saruman had been hoping for, and now there was hope in his plan. Khamul could be persuaded after all and he soon would be.   
"If power is what you seek, I can be more powerful still than Vegeta. Remember I am a wizard. What I lack in strength, I make up for in wisdom and power. With the dragonballs I can overthrow Vegeta and replace him on my throne, with you by my side if you so wish."   
"And serve you?" Khamul asked with a look of disgust on his face.   
"Serve _with_ me. Together we can rule all of Middle Earth! You seek to serve power as you have done since the moment you were given a ring by Sauron. Now you can be the ring giver and rule as you see fit without a master. You know it is your desire Khamul. Why would you refuse?"   
The question went unanswered for a while as Khamul thought over his response. The power was tempting, too tempting for his mind not to be fooled by the offer, and he, indeed, found no reason to refuse.   
"I shall join you," he said at last. "Vegeta shall be betrayed as Sauron was. But those left of the Nazgul shall rot and wither before us and not be allowed to rise into power. We shall rule alone, Saruman."   
"I agree," he said with a smile and beckoned for Khamul to stand by him.   
It was then he turned to the short man who had been waiting patiently, listening to the conversation that been occurring. He smiled softly and looked him in the eyes, the hardship and years of created toil showing once more in his own. Krillan's eyes told a different story though. His were full of power and strength and more recent anger that was aimed at Saruman, whom they now looked upon. They showed no sign of weakness or willingness to be overcome by Saruman's poisonous words.   
"You can't fool me so easily!" he announced. "I'll never join you."   
"Are you sure?" Saruman asked, sounding slightly confused. "There are three wishes and room enough in our kingdom for one more ruler. We can each possess power greater than the Dark Lord."   
"I don't live for power like you two!" Krillan answered sharply. "I only want the dragonballs to destroy the Ring and end Vegeta's reign of terror!"   
"But don't you want anything for yourself?" Saruman asked, catching Krillan off guard. I saw the way your friend controlled you while you were in Isengard. He did not wish to be with you and it seemed to me the only reason he was with you was because he was ordered to carry you. You were useless without him and he did not need you. Now you have the chance to change that and you choose not to."   
At once Krillan began to think of Gohan and how he had been 'mistreated' by him. He suddenly became aware of how Gohan had always made him feel unwanted and not ever truly been his friend, or at least that is how he now felt. But then he remembered Namek and how _Gohan_ had been dependent on _him_ and he realised that he was being manipulated. "Gohan's my friend and he always has been!" he declared. "I won't betray him or anyone else like you two seem to do so well."   
"But Gohan doesn't work for himself, does he?" Saruman now asked. "He takes commands from others who themselves take commands from others. Who might those others be?"   
"He takes commands from noone," answered Krillan. "He offered to help as we all did. Goku's in charge of this operation and even as we speak he's fighting Vegeta not so far from here." As he spoke, thunderous explosions could be heard, louder than the usual frightening sounds that plagued Mordor in more 'peaceful' times. "Goku doesn't work for any others also," he continued. "He acts only to keep peace throughout the land and protect this planet from evil forces like Vegeta! So I will never join you or him!"   
Saruman smiled, partly an evil smile, and began to talk again. "But you have contradicted yourself there my young friend," he said. You claim you and your friends work only towards peace and harmony, yet you feel hatred for us, your enemy's enemy. And that is not the only contradiction. Even if you hate us, why would you oppose us, knowing our plan is to overthrow evil as you claim you wish to do? Surely if your claim was true, you would wish to aid us or even join us and deny the Dark Lord his power. We would rule a peaceful kingdom and banish the evil of Mordor, casting it out from our land to roam lands where it could not cause any mayhem. Would you deny Middle Earth of the peace we are able to bring it?"   
Krillan listened and could not find any lack of logic in the old man's argument. He looked at the bag of dragonballs in his hand and wondered if, together, they really could bring peace to Middle Earth. A part of his mind still did not want to believe it though. This part was filled with memories of Isengard and his long, hard battle with the Nazgul, one of whom now stood before him managing to look evil despite being completely invisible. Then the noises outside the vast tower made him think of Goku and he sensed his friend powering up. 'That's the power of a Super Saiyan 3!' he thought, and this in turn reminded him of Buu, and Cell, and Friesa and the justness of their cause. "I will never join with you!" he declared, and sent a Destructo disk towards Saruman. The powerful disk spun rapidly and sliced the wizard in two. "This shall be your bane, unwise one," was all the wizard could utter before the last of his life drained from his body. Those words lay heavy on Krillan's mind for a long time afterwards, filling it with guilt and remorse and the thought that maybe he should have joined with Saruman after all. Then, still fresh with the poison of Saruman's words, the Nazgul turned to Krillan and said "It's not too late for you to join me," and for a second it was as if the wizard were not dead.

For the third time the battle was now even. Goku's transformation had re-powered him and filled his body with the full extent of its strength. There was nowhere to go from here and should he fail now, all hope was truly lost. Middle Earth had been forced to resort to its last defence, much to its terror, but as long as its hero could hold his own for a while longer it knew it would be okay.   
"I see you feel the need to turn Super Saiyan 3," Vegeta gloated. "I suppose I should feel a sense of pride at that. Not many others have pushed you to that level before."   
Goku was angry but did his best not to show it. "It's not you Vegeta. The Ring pushed me to this level. When will you put aside your arrogance and realise the power doesn't belong to you?"   
"Fool!" replied Vegeta. "The Ring and I are now one of the same. Our powers are combined as one. It accepted me as I accepted It!"   
"It might still betray you," mused Goku.   
"It will never betray me!" Vegeta shouted. As he did so, the Ring became heavy once more. Goku's words were beginning to show It that Its master may not be as powerful as he thought and perhaps there is another who possesses power far greater, perhaps Goku. It shrunk away and released some of Its power from Vegeta, but not enough to make him less powerful than his adversary. It was still not convinced but Goku had been right; the Ring would betray Vegeta if It had the chance at greater power.   
"Enough of this foolishness!" declared Vegeta. "Let's finish this!"   
He flew to Goku and sent a barrage of ki pulses at him, all of which were blocked or deflected. Not stopping, he quickened his pace and rammed Goku, driving his elbow into the Saiyan's stomach. It did not do much damage and Goku returned the gesture with his own elbow. This also did nothing and both fighters now realised the battle would be won by energy attacks alone. Finding the right opportunity to strike was the hard part though. Vegeta was still faster than Goku, giving him the advantage, plus he had the home-field advantage, but at the moment Goku possessed the superior skill.   
Both Saiyans flew some distance apart and powered up energy waves. Each respective wave met and fought once more for their creators. Unlike before, their powers were equal and the activity seemed pointless. Goku saw it as the opportunity he had been waiting for, however. He released his beam and quickly dodged Vegeta's oncoming beam. The latter fell forward due to the release of pressure and regained his composure only to find a large kamehameha heading his way. Just in the nick of time he managed to raise his hands and send it back to its maker. As Goku waited to deflect it back once more, Vegeta powered up a quick Big Bang attack and hurled the massive ball of energy at his opponent. At the same time Goku sent his kamehameha beam to Vegeta once again and the two powerful sources of energy collided with a huge explosion that sent both Saiyans flying back into different cliffs. For the first time since the battle had begun both competitors were down and out.   
Goku rose first. He considered his next move in the time it took Vegeta to rise and was not sure how to use the Dark Lord's fighting style against him. It was random as always, but masked partly by the influence of the Ring. The thought of creating a Spirit Bomb came to mind, but he had only the nearby energies of Piccolo and Krillan as far as he knew and that would not be enough. Also, he knew he would not have the time to create one. Looking back to the battlefield he saw Vegeta had now recovered and was powering up something big. Sensing the energy of the attack he knew it was large and deadly, yet somehow Vegeta was able to power it up in a matter of seconds. "Final Flash!" came to the cry as it was released. A beam more powerful and massive than both the kamehameha and Big Bang combined. He waited for it to arrive before using his Instant Translocation technique, that only he knew, to transport behind Vegeta. As the latter finished pumping energy into his attack, the former kicked him in the stomach, lifted him behind his shoulders and swung him round, landing him headfirst on the plains below. Then, wasting no time, he released another kamehameha, more powerful and deadly than his last, and sent it to the same spot on the plains where it found its target and fed him the full force of its power. Vegeta was thrown up and across the plane only to land, exhausted, again.   
He waited for Goku to approach him before starting to get up again. His lifelong nemesis showed no signs of superiority or a want to gloat; only anger was visible in his eyes. Anger and disappointment. There had been a time, not so long ago, where he would have done anything to be Vegeta's friend. After all, they were the only two pure-blooded Saiyans left in the universe and the only remaining link to their kind. Now he was being forced to destroy that link and be the last remaining pure-blooded Saiyan for the rest of eternity.   
"I really don't want to have to destroy you Vegeta, but you're leaving me with no other choice," he said as he came within six feet of his enemy. "This is your last chance to hand over the Ring and do the right thing. For once in your life don't be a martyr. You'll still have your pride and noone will think any less of you for it."   
The anger in Vegeta's expression heightened and he did his best to conceal it. "No, Kakorat!" was his reply. "If I can't defeat you with the power of the Ring I will have no pride left at all. I have never backed down from a fight before and I'm not about to start now, so destroy me if you have to cause I will never accept defeat at the hands of you!"   
Goku frowned and started to realise that Vegeta's words were true. Much as he hated to admit it, the death of Vegeta would benefit the entire world, and since the Dark Lord would not give up the fight, he knew what he had to do."   
"Very well Vegeta," he exclaimed. "You leave me no choice." He closed his eyes and powered up a growing ball of energy in his hands, aimed at his opponent below.   
"Wait!" shouted Vegeta suddenly, and Goku abandoned the ball. "I haven't lost yet Kakorat. I have one more trick up my sleeve."   
Goku's eyes widened out of curiosity. He looked into Vegeta's eyes and saw the evil grin on his face he had seen so many times before.   
"Before you kill me, Kakorat, I have something I want to show you." Finding the energy, he rose to his feet and stretched his arms and legs out as wide as they would go. Relaxing his body he let the Ring take control of it and feed it as much power as It would spare. He glowed golden like the Ring and shone brighter than any Saiyan ever had before. Then his hair started to grow. It grew first upward, then curved and widened, running down his back as his face took on a more wisened and stronger expression. He was Vegeta but he did not look like Vegeta anymore. He was taller, he was stronger, he was the embodiment of power; He was a Super Saiyan 3.   
"How do you like my new look, Kakorat?" he asked, facing the other SSJ3. Goku did his best to be angry, but his excitement could not be held back. With the greatest of restraint, a small grin still snuck through to his face as he anticipated the coming of every pure-blooded Saiyan's dream…The fight of a lifetime.

Saruman's voice spoke not so softly now through Khamul. The Nazgul had not bought into everything Saruman had said but he liked the idea of having the Ring and the dragonballs for himself, especially now that it really would be for him alone. The only thing that stood in his way was Krillan and he knew Saruman had had the right idea in trying to persuade the man to join them rather than risk confrontation. The proof now lay in the two halves of his body that lay beside them, the wizard's eyes still watching them, wide-open and following their gaze, locked on to them for what seemed would be the rest of their lives. Khamul faced Krillan and asked him once again "Would you like to join me, Krillan?"   
"I said I'll never join you!" he replied, sounding angry and less remorseful for having killed Saruman.   
"Very well," said Khamul. "I'll bid you farewell then." And with that he took the bag of dragonballs and made ready to leave.   
"Hey! Give them back!" Krillan shouted after him, but the Nazgul began to run to the door. A small explosion in front of him stopped him in his tracks though and he looked back to see that it had come from Krillan. Suddenly he was very nervous.   
"What I'm about to do is for Gohan," he declared and stood poised for battle. They were about to fight for the dragonballs and the security of Middle Earth.   
Khamul, realising resistance was futile, prepared himself for battle and started the fight unexpectedly. With tremendous speed he flew towards Krillan and landed a punch in his stomach. The two began darting around the room, bouncing off walls and hurtling their bodies at each other without a care for their own safety. Krillan was charging up a kamehameha beam and as he let it go it produced a light show as he dodged Khamul, zanzookening here and there. Finally the Nazgul stepped into it in his confusion and felt the blast's full force as it threw him into the back wall. He immediately rose and fired a small, pathetic beam of his own. Krillan wasn't phased and simply pushed it aside with his hands before returning to the battle. They fought with fists now instead, landing a punch every now and again, each beginning to tire, though Krillan still had a lot more energy then Khamul. The latter eventually stopped for a breather and sat down by the door.   
"You…fool!" he panted. "Don't you know the Nazgul cannot be destroyed by man?"   
Krillan looked confused as he tried to figure out if this could be true. "Before today you didn't know men as powerful as me existed," he pointed out.   
"Doesn't…matter," replied Khamul. "We cannot be…destroyed by man."   
Krillan fired a stronger kamehameha at the Nazgul who managed to deflect it away from him.   
"Don't…hit me when I'm down," Khamul demanded, and strangely Krillan listened to him. He waited till the Nazgul had risen again and was fully functional before restarting the fight. This was Khamul's first battle since he had been given power by Vegeta and he did not yet know how to use it properly. He was wasting far too much energy and lacked proper control of it. This had not gone unnoticed by Krillan who engaged the Nazgul in hand-to-hand combat once more in an effort to wear him down. Khamul had the same idea but a different method of carrying it out. He began to zanzooken around Krillan, hoping to confuse him and wear him out eventually. It quickly backfired though as he, himself, began to feel tired. Krillan waited for him to stop then punched him hard in the stomach and kicked him in the chin. Khamul fell again and took another breather.   
"Don't…hit me when…I'm down," he demanded again. It didn't work this time though. Krillan spun the energy in his hand until it took the form of a disk. Then, without words, he hurled it at the Nazgul, ending its miserable life. Its loud piercing scream rang throughout the tower but noone was around to hear it. Krillan shielded his eyes and when he looked back, discovered that he had been right: The Nazgul _could_ be killed by man.   
Krillan was left alone in the battered room now. Ironically, it now looked much like the throne room due to the amount of guts and blood that now covered it. He made sure both Khamul and Saruman were dead before taking the bag of dragonballs and deciding what to do next. But just as he was about to leave the room he heard a strange beeping noise. It slowed down as he approached the door and sped up as he walked deeper into the room. Finally he concluded it was coming from Saruman. Looking in the wizard's pocket he found the source of the noise; a dragon radar. "So that's how he tracked the dragonballs!" Krillan concluded. "I wonder how he got it though." Without giving further thought to the mystery, he exited the room and flew high above Barad-Dur and Mordor. As he looked down he could see the fire and dust and smoke that were a result of the long, bloody battle going on below. He wished he could help but he knew what he was about to do was help enough. "Just hold on a little longer Goku," he said. "It'll all be over soon." And with that he slung the bag of dragonballs over his shoulder and took off at speed for Dende's place.

The two powerful Saiyans were giving it everything they had. Each punch sent tremors through the whole of Mordor and the ground shook violently as their bodies clashed with thunderous explosions. Each was a Super Saiyan 3, the final form a Saiyan can achieve and this made them the two most powerful beings in the universe. Their hair flew about their waists, running down the length of their bodies as they zanzookened at a speed too great for human eyes to see, delivering blows that would collapse a major city in a second. The ground was cracked, moreso than before the start of the fight, and volcanoes now erupted as the tectonic plates far beneath them in the Earth's mantle shattered under the pressure.   
Goku smiled the entire time. He had never had a fight of these proportions before and was loving every minute of it, but in the back of his mind the task he had been appointed with weighed heavily on him and he realised his own amusement must come second to it. For this reason he was not holding back. It was a very rare occasion when Goku used the full extent of his power but now was one of them, and it was necessary as the Dark Lord was using the full extent of his, though he claimed otherwise. Talk was over and both Saiyans lost themselves in the fight, giving it their full attention and taking it as seriously as they could. Middle Earth was at stake and they both wanted it dearly.   
Vegeta was sending out rapid Final Flashes, formed from his hands in the space of mere seconds, an incredible feat for anyone. Goku, however, was able to avoid them with the greatest of speed and still created Kamehamehas in similar time, sending them back before zanzookening over to Vegeta and delivering a blow to his face in order to distract him. The latter did not fall for the cheap trick. With one arm he blocked the punch and with the other, sent the kamehamas to the nearby cliffs which by now were just piles of molten rock. He threw Goku away and swung a Big Bang at him, showing no signs of weariness despite the incredible amount of power he was now using. The Ring lightened and shined beneath the Dark Lord's vest, sensing the closeness of their victory.   
The Big Bang exploded against Goku's arms as he defended himself. It did no harm and shattered into a million pieces as Goku fired a burst of rapid ki pulses, each powerful enough to destroy a planet, at Vegeta. The Dark Lord released his power and blew them away as Goku charged at him. They each kicked at the same time and landed their feet in each other's faces. Neither flinched as they zanzookened a safe distance away and faced each other.   
"You are good, Kakorat," exclaimed Vegeta. "I have never seen you show the full extent of your power before, I must say I'm flattered."   
"What makes you think I'm using the full extent of my power?" asked Goku.   
"I can just tell. The Ring can just tell," replied Vegeta with a small grin appearing round the edges of his mouth. He folded his arms and waited for Goku to speak.   
"This is hopeless," Goku finally said. "We're both too strong and fast to damage one another. This fight has lasted through the night and still we're both standing. How long do you expect to keep this up for?" He was willing to keep it up all year if possible, having too much fun to stop, but still his task came first and he decided to sacrifice his entertainment for it.   
"I'm perfectly willing to keep it up as long as you are, Kakorat," Vegeta replied, and the Ring glowed at the mention of 'perfect'. "However," he continued, "I think it might be time to reveal to you the true extent of our power." Again the Ring glowed, this time because Vegeta had acknowledged Its existence by saying 'our' rather than 'my' for once. It had become submissive to Vegeta and let the Saiyan rule over them both, something It had not done for a long time now. Vegeta's word was Its command and anything the Dark Lord desired, the Ring would do Its best to help him achieve.   
Goku watched as Vegeta took the Ring out from under his vest and held it in front of him. He watched his opponent create a small ki pulse from his finger and send it through the golden object. It was very small, both the Ring and the pulse, but one was immensely powerful. The ki pulse entered a kitten and emerged from the Ring a lion. It immediately grew a million times in all of size, power and speed, and was now heading for Goku. It was too fast by far for the Saiyan to dodge. His arms instinctively rose to protect his face but all at once the blast hit him and he felt it was more powerful than anything he had ever felt before. His arms did nothing to shield the blast as it threw him to the ground and exploded on him violently, the sound of the blast travelling throughout Middle Earth, and the ground it had hit flying in all directions, shards of rock landing as far away as Mirkwood and Isengard. Vegeta pumped more power into it, sending rapid ki bursts through the Ring and watching them come out as Big Bangs on the other side. He laughed as he toyed with Goku, watching the ground the Saiyan had landed on being destroyed and deepening as its rock left it and travelled to other lands. He felt he could keep it up all day, and planned to until he was sure that Goku was dead, but suddenly he felt a small blow to the back of his head. It was too small to damage him, but large enough to move him. At once he stopped and turned to see where it had come from. Noone was behind him, but a third party stood on the ground below, near the crater Goku lay in, not looking at all happy. "The Namek!" declared Vegeta before he could even see Piccolo. Then he turned and found him. "What are you doing here?!?" he shouted with immense fury, but Piccolo did not immediately reply.   
The angry Namek rose from the ground and hovered over to Vegeta, the tenseness of his muscles revealing the mood he was in as they bulged with every breath he took. He stopped when he was close enough for Vegeta to both see and hear him clearly and decided to answer the question.   
"I came to watch over Goku," he said. "And it looks like he needed me after all. Good job I was here." A small smirk escaped from his stern expression as he realised he had the right to be cocky at Vegeta's expense. The Saiyan was not someone any Namek wanted to mess with though, not even Piccolo.   
"Fool!" said the Dark Lord. "Attacking me will do no good. I can destroy you in an instance! And as soon as I do, I'll go right back to Kakorat. Unless you have someone to watch over you too of course."   
Down below, Hercule heard those words and cringed.   
"It's just me Vegeta. Destroy me if you can, but I think you'll find it's more difficult than you expect."   
And with that Vegeta was pushed over the edge. He swung furiously at Piccolo, but the Namek had moved by the time the punch had reached the spot he had been standing in.   
"Don't make this too easy for me Vegeta," mocked Piccolo.   
"I won't!" replied the Dark Lord. "You've given me an opportunity to try something out I've been wanting to try since I first acquired the Ring."   
He took the Ring out and snapped the chain, freeing it. He then proceeded to put it on his index finger and disappear. Piccolo's eyes widened in disbelief of what he had just seen. His opponent had vanished and was nowhere to be found.   
"How do you like fighting blind Piccolo?" asked Vegeta.   
The Namek was angry but not dismayed. "I can still sense your power level, Vegeta," he replied. "That's just about as good as eyesight."   
"Can you really sense my power level?" asked Vegeta.   
Piccolo tried but found he couldn't. If he didn't already know the Saiyan was in the room, he would never have known. "What did you do?" he asked, the anger now showing in his voice.   
"I masked my power level," Vegeta replied. "Did you forget I could do that? I learnt it on Earth. You and your friends taught me it, ironically." He laughed maniacally and flew, unbeknownst, towards Piccolo.   
The Namek felt a powerful blow strike his face, forcing him to the ground. Another followed, this time to his stomach, then two hands were driven into his back. Every time he managed to get up fast enough to return a blow, Vegeta had moved. "This…isn't funny…Vegeta," Piccolo struggled to say, but there was no reply. Suddenly a large beam came flying at him. He moved to dodge it, but it turned and followed him, gaining on him until it had him cornered, then exploding with all its force.   
"Prepare to be sent into the next dimension Namek!" Shouted Vegeta from high up in the sky.   
"Stop!" cried Piccolo. "If you destroy me the dragonballs will disappear!"   
"I don't need them anymore," said Vegeta. "The Ring is all I need from now on. I cannot be more powerful than I am now and It will never betray me!"   
Piccolo felt Vegeta's energy rise and he could sense him again. The Saiyan was planning something big.   
"Say goodbye to Middle Earth, Piccolo!" shouted Vegeta, and a powerful beam was sent flying. It did not come from the Dark Lord though; it flew towards him and exploded on him, sending him into the rocks below. It came from the crater where Goku lay. The Saiyan was drained of energy but had enough to stop Vegeta from destroying his friend. That was the last of his energy though and he now lay motionless, unable to speak or move. Furious, Vegeta flew to the crater and peered in. "Blast you Kakorat!!!!!!!!" he screamed at the top of his voice. Still invisible, he rose his power again and began to create the most powerful Final Flash he had ever created. Piccolo flew to him and sent rapid punches and kicks, but the Dark Lord blocked each one without delaying the completion of his final attack. Not even a Masenka-ho could move him now. Vegeta was completely focussed on destroying Goku and he wanted to pump all his energy into his attack to make sure that would happen.   
"Kakorat will die and then so will you Piccolo!" he declared, an evil smile on his face. With one arm he threw the Namek to the ground again and continued powering up his Final Flash. Goku, Piccolo and Hercule all looked on but could do nothing. Fearing the worst, they closed their eyes and hoped for a miracle to happen. Then it happened.   
Vegeta suddenly noticed he was visible again. He released the energy of his attack back into his body and looked down at the Ring on his finger. "What is happening?" he asked it. "What are you doing?" He felt his body being dragged by the Ring. It was taking him somewhere and after a short time he realised It was heading for the volcano. Mount Doom, the place of Its creation, the only place It could be destroyed. Vegeta struggled to pull It off but the Ring tightened on his finger and dragged him harder. "Why have you turned on me?" screamed the Saiyan, but there was no answer or any change in the actions of the Ring. It reached the volcano and hovered over it. The all-seeing eye watched them both and a silent laughter filled the lava below as the flames jumped at them, impatient for the moment they had been waiting for since the birth of the Ring. "No! Don't do it!" pleaded Vegeta as the Ring began to fall. Again the Dark Lord struggled but the Ring was too tight to take off. It fell into the lava with Its master as a large rush of magma rose quickly into the atmosphere for all Middle Earth to see. His final scream was buried in the volcano along with his molten body and the molten Ring he had treasured so dearly. Piccolo heard it and smiled, though he was not sure what had happened. He just knew that Vegeta's power level had rapidly decreased to nothing and this meant one thing…the Dark Lord was dead.

So the Dark Lord has finally been destroyed along with his Ring. Middle Earth is safe at last...or is it? here are still some loose ends to be tied up. Find out how all our heroes fare in Chapter 14, the final chapter!


	15. Chapter14: Meetings and partings

Chapter 14: Meetings and Partings

All was quiet for the first time in a long time. Mordor lay still and the once roaring flames now dimmed and lowered themselves to a more respectable level, filling the plains, caves and mountains with a calming candlelight effect that reflected off the rocks and made the land seem altogether more soothing. The few remaining orcs and goblins that had survived the night's events opened their eyes and were not afraid anymore. The light did not wish to harm them and it carried a message, that of the Dark Lord's death. But they did not mind; the light was like none they had ever seen before and they liked it, unusual as it was for any orc or goblin to desire light of any form. They sensed a change and put down their weapons as they lay down and basked in its warmth.   
Hercule noticed it too and stood up for the first time since the battle had begun. His hands felt numb after clinging so hard to the rock he had hid behind for so long and they now began the tedious task of finding their strength again. The rest of the Champ's body made its way towards Piccolo. He was unsure of what had happened, but knew that something big had and the light was telling him that he no longer needed to be afraid. So he stood up and walked towards the Namek who was not too far away. "Piccolo," he said when he reached him. The Namek did not move or open his eyes. Hercule pushed and prodded him, hoping for some kind of reaction, but none occurred. Scared again, both for his safety and his new friend's life, he got to his knees and looked up at the light for some kind of guidance, but received none. He was not worried that he did not know the way out of Mordor and that he may be trapped in this place forever as a tear rolled from his eye, both out of happiness and despair. Suddenly a movement occurred. Piccolo finally opened an eye, then closed it again. Then he opened it again. It took him a while to get used to the level of lighting and for a short time he felt confused. Then he opened his mouth to speak. "The rain's stopped," he declared, as Hercule's head turned immediately. The Champ looked round to see the Namek with a half smile on his face. He smiled back and then asked the question he had been wanting to ask since the last explosion: "Is he…dead?"   
Piccolo remained motionless and waited a short time before he answered. "I think so," he said at last. "I can't sense his energy level anymore."   
The Champ got to his feet and shouted as he jumped for joy, in the same manner as when he had discovered Cell and evil Buu had each been destroyed. "All right!" he screamed at the top of his voice. "Finally everything will be back to normal!"   
"I'm not so sure," Piccolo said, contradicting him. "We don't know what's going on in the rest of Middle Earth or even if Goku's still alive."   
Hercule turned with a confused expression on his face.   
"Can you see him?" Piccolo asked.   
Hercule looked round and tried to find the Saiyan but could not immediately see him. He walked for a bit and found a large crater in the middle of the plain he was standing on. Looking down he could see a small figure in the center of it. "I see him!" he declared as he ran back to Piccolo.   
"That's a good sign," replied the Namek. "Now we have to make it back to Dende's palace, but I don't have enough energy to get us there and neither does Goku."   
For the first time since Vegeta's death, Hercule became extremely worried. "Are we trapped in this place then?" he asked.   
"No," Piccolo replied, a hint of amusement showing on his face. "If you can reach into my pocket you'll find a small bean. Put it in my mouth and I should be good to go."   
Hercule did as he was told and Piccolo swallowed the bean. His strength came back to him as he stood up and slowly walked over to the crater. Goku lay motionless in it and showed little sign of life. Piccolo flew in and examined him. "I think he should be okay," he said. "He just needs Dende's help and some rest, but we need to get him back now."   
Hercule made his way into the crater and took a closer look at Goku. "What do we do now then?" he asked, waiting for further instructions.   
"Well, if Goku were awake we could instant translocate over to Dende's palace, but unfortunately he's not, so we don't have that luxury. Climb on my back. It looks like we'll have to do this the old fashioned way."   
Hercule climbed on Piccolo's back as the Namek took Goku under his arm and soared up and out of Mordor. The champ looked down at the lights and almost wished he was not leaving, but his thoughts were suddenly distracted by the feeling of something on his forehead. He moved his hand to it and found it was a raindrop. There were no others about though and the sky was as clear as it could be. 'The last raindrop,' thought the Champ to himself. 'Finally it's really over!' 

The journey was not long and the three companions found it rather peaceful; even Goku who was not consciously aware of it. Piccolo and Hercule talked long as they journeyed and discussed the recent events in great detail. Only Hercule wondered what had become of Krillan, but he did not ask. A strange feeling in his heart told him the little bald guy was safe and Piccolo, of course, had his suspicions as to what had occurred with regards to him. For once Piccolo was able to listen to someone without becoming annoyed or agitated and this was no small feat for him. The death of the Dark Lord had lightened his heart and he was finally able to express himself like never before. He did not fly fast and was in no hurry to reach Dende's palace, but when they finally arrived he was not disappointed either.

"Look, they're here!" Goten shouted. He and Trunks were waiting in Dende's garden and they had been able to sense Piccolo's energy for some time now. A small dot had come into view and it grew rapidly until the forms of Piccolo, Hercule and Goku could be made out.   
"There's my dad!" Goten shouted.   
"But what about my dad?" Trunks asked, bowing his head and allowing a tear to roll down his cheek. "I can't sense his energy anymore."   
Goten was about to answer but the sight of his own dad stole his concentration and he waited for his friends to land. The wait was not long and by the time they did land, the others were waiting for them. Dende, Mr.Popo, Yamcha, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and of course Krillan all stood smiling as their heroes faced them. Goten immediately ran to his dad and saw he was battered and bruised and unmoving.   
"Is he okay?" he asked, feeling slightly scared. He had never seen his dad in this bad a form.   
"He'll be fine, kid," Piccolo replied. "Dende'll deal with him and he'll be as good as new in no time."   
Goten smiled, but he could see that Trunks still despaired.   
"What about my dad?" he asked nervously. Piccolo looked at him but could not answer. That said it all.   
Then Dende stepped forward. He looked at Goku and formed an analysis of his condition. "Yes, he will be okay," he told them all. "But I'll have to heal him right away and after that he'll need to rest for some time."   
And so Dende and Mr.Popo took Goku into the palace as the rest of them talked amongst themselves. All except Trunks who went off on his own and sat under a tree. Soon Goten would join him but the young Saiyan wanted to hear of the expedition into Mordor first. Piccolo was about to tell all, but there was something he needed to confirm first.   
"Nice work, Krillan," he said with a smile on his face. Krillan's smile then became much greater.   
"Aw Gee, it was nothing really!" he said. "I take it you know about the dragonballs then?"   
"I guessed," Piccolo replied.   
"Hey you guys," Yamcha suddenly interrupted. "We might have used one wish to destroy the Ring, but Shenlong will still grant us another. What should we wish for?"   
The answer was obvious and so they gathered the dragonballs one more time.

"What is your wish?" Shenlong asked, sounding impatient as always. The Hobbits looked on amazed for the second time, not able to believe the sight of the hundred foot tall dragon that stood before them. The air was musky and the sky was black and the dragon took all.   
"Do you think that is anything like the dragon old Mr. Bilbo saw?" Pippin asked.   
"No, I do not think it is like Smaug," Frodo responded. All the while they stared at Shenlong with awe.   
"Dragon," Krillan started. "We wish to restore the lives of everyone who was killed by Vegeta and his henchmen."   
There was a long pause, then the dragon spoke again in his deep, husky tone. "That is within my power," he said at last. "Your wish has been granted. I will now depart."   
With that the dragon disappeared back into the dragonballs and the balls turned to solid stone and journeyed off to be hidden across the world for a year. Meanwhile, all who had perished in the great battles felt life in them again. Men, orcs, trolls, elves and dwarves alike all looked at their bodies and wondered if this had been some act of mercy on behalf of the Valars. Two very important people who now stood in Dende's garden did likewise. 

"Look, they're back!" Goten shouted, and he jumped for joy to see his brother returned to him safely. Beside him stood Boromir, and he too looked well.   
"Hey guys," Gohan said cheerily. "Thanks for wishing us back."   
"No problem," Krillan replied, and he thought once more of Saruman's words and felt both guilty and ashamed. "C'mon, we'll fill you in on what's been going on."   
"Okay, but we have a lot to tell you too," Gohan replied.

And so they talked and helped one another to catch up on the events of the war, but Goku was still not present. Dende had healed his body but he slept for a week before he felt fit enough to get out of bed and visit his friends. Dende had ordered that he should be kept alone with no contact until he was willing to walk again. His ordeal had been great and he would need time to recover mentally as well as physically. Now, though, he had made a full recovery and finally he left his room to confront his friends and family.   
"Goku!" they all shouted in unison as he stepped into the garden. Many of them cried, but Goku merely grinned.   
"What's happening?" he asked. "Did I miss anything?"   
Indeed he had, for he was not even aware that Vegeta and his Ring had been destroyed, though he suspected it. He had not been able to sense their combined life force since his recovery, but he felt that may be due to the mental anguish he had been undergoing.   
"There's a lot you need to know Goku," Piccolo said, but the Saiyan did not listen. His youngest son, Goten, had jumped up into his arms and his elder son, Gohan, stood near him.   
"Tell me later," Goku replied. "First I gotta eat."   
And with that they all headed off to the dining room.

A few hours later Goku had been brought up to speed and so they were all of same knowledge. Only then did Piccolo bring up the subject of their friends in Rohan.   
"I had thought of them," Goku said solidly. "Many times as I lay in bed my thoughts went out to them, but I remembered what Gandalf told me rightbefore we left for Mordor. He said we had to go; that it was our fight. He went off to his fight and we should leave them to it and not interfere."   
"So will we ever see them again?" Piccolo asked, feeling unusually sentimental.   
"Of course," Goku said in response. "When we can no longer sense the energies of the two remaining Black Riders, I'll take us to Rohan to help them celebrate their victory."   
This seemed to satisfy Piccolo and he said no more about it.

It wasn't until several days later that the subject was raised again. Everyone on Dende's palace had made full recoveries and were enjoying their time spent on the floating haven. The hobbits were busy playing amongst themselves as Goten, Trunks and Gohan all fought and trained hard together for fun. Boromir mostly kept to himself, though every now and then he would seek out Piccolo and meditate with him, having grown a fondness for the exercise. Piccolo was meditating now under a tree and that is how Goku found him.   
"It's time," Goku said solemnly, and Piccolo immediately snapped back to the world of the living and nodded. He stood and gripped Goku's arm as the Saiyan instantly translocated both their bodies to Rohan. When they arrived, they could see Aragorn talking with another man amidst an army of men, numbering at least two thousand strong and five hundred horses. Many of them smoked their pipes and drank from chalices over the bodies of two large winged beasts. Two cloaked forms lay dead beside them also, one with an arrow in his neck, the other with a fatal sword wound. Gandalf was the first to spot the visitors.   
"So you came?" he said happily, greeting them in his usual manner. "I thank you both for keeping your affairs to yourselves and leaving us to deal with ours. I thank you also, of course, for the slaying of the Dark Lord and the completion of the Ringbearer's task."   
"That's no problem," Goku replied. "We're just happy to have everything back to normal."   
"And everything is indeed finally back to normal," Gandalf said. "With the death of the last of Vegeta's minions." He moved his arm in the direction of the two dead Nazgul, but Goku and Piccolo had already seen them.   
"But come now," Gandalf said at length. "We shall not look on them while fairer things exist. Strider has been waiting for you."   
They walked over to Aragorn as he sat talking with a friend. When he spied his two colleagues a smile took his face and he could not hide it by will or want. "Goku! Piccolo!" he said. "Now at last our celebration is complete!"   
The man next to him stood and looked at them. "This is Eomer of Rohan," Aragorn said at last. "Sister –son of Theoden King and leader of the Rohirrim."   
"It is an honour to meet you," Eomer said. "Your actions shall inspire songs for many generations in our kingdom and indeed in Gondor if Aragorn should allow it."   
"And indeed I will once I am king," Aragorn said. It was then that Legolas and Gimli approached them. They looked unscathed and carried their weapons with great pride.   
"Could it be that the Lord of the Rings is now dead then," Gimli asked jokingly. He did of course already know the answer to that question. They all di. The air and the light and the end of the rain had been all the messengers they needed.   
"The Nazgul are dead too," Legolas interrupted. "My arrow slew one itself and Eomer slew the other, though his steed perished in the battle."   
Goku looked at Eomer and, though he did not know the man, admired his modesty and moreso his honour. He took him aside and they spoke for a while as the others went off to discuss various matters with Piccolo. At the end of the day it was decided that after they had dined, the hobbits and Boromir should be fetched from Dende's palace to join in the evening's festivities and reunite the fellowship of the Ring.

And so Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and Boromir of Gondor were brought to Rohan, and the land was like nothing they had ever seen before. Not so fair as Rivendell yet more breathtaking in light of recent events. They had the option to be taken back to the Shire by Goku via instant translocation, but they chose to remain with the rest of the fellowship and journey back with Gandalf when they felt the time was right. Boromir too refused the offer, choosing instead to wait with his Lord Aragorn and journey back to Gondor with him to see him become king. They celebrated long into the night and when the morning came and the steed of the Nazgul had been burned, it was time for Goku and Piccolo to depart. The parting was sad but the task had been completed and the celebration had been fitting. When at last they left, they were still happy.

ut Goku did not remain at ease. His discomfort rose gradually over the next few days and he knew there was something that needed to be done, though he did not consult with anyone on the matter. Finally it was Piccolo who confronted him instead.   
"Something on your mind, Goku?" he asked.   
The Saiyan did not answer, but nodded feebly.   
"I know," Piccolo continued. "I'm not so sure if it's such a good idea though."   
"I think it has to be done," Goku replied. "I know it goes against all logic, but it's paid off before and I think it will in the days to come."   
"Then do it," Piccolo said confidently. "You've always gone with your gut and you've usually been right about your instincts, Goku. Go for it. I'll tell the others you'll be back soon."   
And as Goku looked up at the Namek, he took one last look at Dende's palace and placing his fingers on his forehead, disappeared.

He reappeared on planet Namek. The new Namek that he himself had helped the Nameks to find since he had been partially responsible for the destruction of their old planet. He looked around at the green grass and the greener sky and then saw Guru's temple in front of him. He stepped inside and found the large Namek sitting on his throne. The Namek dragonballs lay by his side and he was asleep.   
"Guru!" Goku shouted, but this did nothing to alter the old Namek's state. "GURU!" he shouted louder and this time there was a stir.   
"Huh…wh…what? Ahh…Goku! It's good to see you again. It's been a while."   
"Yes it has," Goku replied. "But this isn't a courtesy call. I need to ask a favour of you."   
"Let me guess…the dragonballs."   
"Got it in one Guru."   
Guru could sense what Goku had in mind. He was unsure of the details but he knew there was great doubt and fear in the plan. He felt he had to intervene. "Are you sure you want to do this, Goku?" he asked.   
"Positive," Goku replied. "Piccolo helped me decide."   
"Well if Piccolo agreed with your decision then I cannot argue," Guru said in response. "Take the dragonballs and do as you see fit."   
"Thanks Guru!"   
With that, Goku took the dragonballs outside and summoned the Namek dragon, Porunga.

Meanwhile, a small half-bodied peanut-looking being crawled his way across the plains of Other World. He had been travelling for weeks with little food or drink. "Water," he tried to say. "Need…water." He looked up to see another familiar face. This one was far more terrifying to him than the whole of Cell's gang combined. He wanted to scream but found he couldn't.   
"So," said the figure as he stood with folded arms over the cowering, pathetic form of Babidi. "We meet again I see!" and he laughed an evil laugh that rang throughout the whole of the HFIL.   
"Now at last I have the chance for revenge," he said, laughing now louder and more maniacally. "You remember what you did to me, don't you? You and your fat slave Buu. Do you remember my name Babidi?"   
Babidi used all his strength to lift his head and look up at the man who stood over him. "V…Ve…Vegeta," he was able to get out before collapsing again.   
"That's right," the Saiyan replied. "I have been travelling for some time now in this place since the destruction of my Ring. Alone and almost powerless, but this…this will make it all worthwhile."   
He lifted his foot and readied himself to crush the little weasel's skull, when suddenly he felt himself become lighter and his body suddenly disappeared. Babidi looked up again and heaved a sigh of relief, though he did not know what had just occurred. Complete destruction would have been kinder than a life of crawling and begging with half a body in the afterlife, but he still wished to live yet.

"Huh? What just happened?" Vegeta asked angrily. He now saw that he was standing on a green planet with a green sky that he immediately recognised as Namek. Then he sensed another lifeform present and turned to see who it was.   
"Kakorat!" he said, and smiled greatly. "Am I…"   
"Yes, you're alive again Vegeta. I don't know why but once again I've spared you from death. I just hope that this time you can finally learn from your mistakes."   
Vegeta moved closer to him and grinned an evil grin, but he could not keep it up for long. It soon became a friendly smile, and he aimed it as Goku.   
"Thank you Kakorat," he said, and they shook hands for the second time as friends.

The End


End file.
